The Darkness Hunter
by kajoqixuye
Summary: Sora Parker is a detective that specializes in unusual cases, involving creatures most people don't think exist. His many experiences would give most people nightmares. But everything changes for him when he takes a case involving a mysterious, red-haired woman...and finds a connection with her he never would have expected. Rated T for violence, language, and suggestive themes.
1. The Darkness Hunter

**Hello, all you lovers of stories! After being a fan of this site for some time, I have finally decided to make some contributions of my own. This is my first story, a Kingdom Hearts AU that I've been working on for a bit. Hope you enjoy!  
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**Obligatory disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, characters, storyline, or any of its other elements.  
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I stared in horror at the scene before me. A pile of corpses lay at my feet, pale and completely drained of blood. Expressions of terror adorned their faces, forever frozen in time. Standing over them, back to me, was a figure, wrapped in a dark cloak, with a hood covering the head, so I could make out nothing. Even the cloak was too flowing for me to get a good sense of the body shape. All I could tell was that the figure was of fairly average height, perhaps a little shorter than normal. Heavy, ragged breathing emitted from the figure, and drops of blood fell onto the floor.

I felt cold, and not just because of the setting—I was standing in a cold stone dungeon, with a very Gothic feel to it, dark and foreboding. But this figure—whoever it was—was the true cause of my unease. It had killed, and it would kill again, and I was unarmed.

It sensed my presence. Slowly, it turned around, head bent and hood up so that I couldn't see its face. _Get out of here!_ my brain screamed, but my body was paralyzed, unable to follow any mental commands.

The figure stood still, facing me. Then, it lifted its head, and I looked into its eyes and—

* * *

I jerked upright, panting. My breathing slowed as I came to the realization that I was lying in bed, in my apartment, eight stories above the ground, not below it. Sweat adorned by face and shirtless torso. _Just a nightmare…_

I sank back down onto the mattress and glanced at my bedside clock. _1:39 a.m._ Too early to get up; I needed more sleep. That is, so long as I could get it.

I rolled onto my side, but my mind, having been woken by my nightmare, would not let me rest. This was not the first such dream I had had recently. They weren't exactly the same, but there were many common themes—bloodless corpses, a figure cloaked in black whose face I never saw, and the feeling of pure, unbridled terror. It unsettled me; in my line of work, fear, though healthy in small doses, was not something that I could afford to yield to.

What were these dreams? Premonitions? Of what? Impending disaster? It was possible… I had come near death many times, and often in circumstances not too unlike those in my dream. Yet I had never experienced dreams like this before. Would this situation be different from the others? Would it…be my last?

I tried to shut these thoughts out; _every_ time could be my last. I knew that. But I still couldn't shake the feeling of unease that these dreams had given me.

It was another two hours, at least, before I managed to drop back into unconsciousness.

* * *

My alarm woke me up at seven o'clock, as usual. Blinking, I rolled out of bed and turned off the irritating buzzer, then stretched. My sleep last night had been a little less than adequate, but duty still called.

Morning routine went as usual—I took a ten-minute shower, with a blast of cold water at the end to wake me up; ignored my brush and mousse, as my hair had long since given up trying to cooperate and lie flat; quickly picked out a shirt and tie to wear, along with my usual khaki pants; spread peanut butter on a bagel and washed it down with orange juice; and grabbed my suitcase and left my apartment, a little after seven-thirty.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk to my office, and I joined the large crowd of commuters making their way to their respective places of work. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I thought, _Most likely, no one here knows what I do, but they'd freak out if they did._

I reached the building where my office was located at about a quarter to eight, entered the lobby, and pressed the button for the elevator. A couple of minutes later, the pair of steel double doors opened, and I stepped inside, along with an assortment of others who had joined me, most of which I knew by face but not by name. We nodded cordially to each other, and went to our respective floors. I got out at thirteen, and was the only one—despite the high degree of achievement and intelligence distributed among those who worked here, very few wanted to work on the thirteenth floor. Superstition and all that. Though I supposed I shouldn't judge; my experiences had taught me that things that were assumed to be false could be true, and vice versa. Superstition could very well turn out to be fact. But, as far as I knew, no threat posed itself to me simply because of what floor I worked on.

I made my way down the hall, and came to my office door: a simple wooden door with "Parker and Co. Investigative Services" printed on the glass. Taking a key from my pocket, I inserted it into the keyhole, unlocked the door, and went in.

Everything just like always. Except that this time, there was my underlying anxiety about my dream that I had to bug me. _Did_ it mean anything?

I took a deep breath and let it out. _Whatever will happen will happen, and all you can do is be prepared when it does,_ I told myself. I had dealt with anxiety before; I would do it again.

I went over to my desk, opened my briefcase, and took out my laptop and papers; even though I had drawers in my desk, there was some information that I didn't want to leave lying around in an abandoned office. I opened the laptop, booted it up, and opened the case file. I scanned over the information, to refresh it in my mind and prepare myself for the day's work:

_Report_

_Woman worried about her boyfriend: strange behavior, pale complexion, seems to keep secrets from her._

_Client's name: Jane Porter_

_Boyfriend's name: Robert Clayton_

_Findings_

_Porter seems to be paranoid, but her descriptions do paint a suspicious picture._

_Clayton pale, looked at Goofy in strange way, almost longingly, when he went to his door._

_Porter reported that Clayton often seems to want to avoid her, does not let her in certain parts of his house, rarely eats except for meat._

_Watched Clayton from afar, house has blinds drawn nearly 24-7, except when Porter is over._

_Possible ∞ or † __case?_

I opened another file, one that I used frequently, and one that I made sure to keep secret. It outlined the large majority of my work. After double-clicking, it came up: "Supernatural Beings of the Natural World."

That was what I did. I was a private investigator, with a particular focus on the supernatural. Such creatures were everywhere, hiding in plain sight. My best friend, another detective named Riku Taiko, was aware of my occupation. He had nicknamed me "The Darkness Hunter," and even though I thought it was a little dramatic, I kind of liked it. Whenever he got a case that suggested supernatural activity, he recommended the case to me. I would look into it, and often take it; instances of supernatural beings were actually fairly common. And the case that we were looking into carried a strong flavor of supernaturalism. A pale, mysterious person, who kept secrets and seemed to have a fondness for meat? The first case that came to mind was classic: a vampire, an undead creature that fed on the blood of others, represented by the "†". But that seemed unlikely in this case. If Clayton were a vampire, the sunlight would make him seem less pale, yet the lack of color in his face was noticeable even when the sun was bearing full down on him. Plus, when he was alone at his house, the lights were on, and a vampire would be much more keen to reside in the dark. And Clayton seemed to have no preference between raw and cooked meat; a vampire would much prefer raw. Therefore, I had a different theory, and it was why I had added the "∞" to the document. The infinity symbol represented a wendigo, a creature similar to a vampire, but with key differences. For one, while a vampire merely drank the blood of its victims, a wendigo ate them. Yeah, it took humans, killed them, and ate them. Originally a subject of Algonquian stories, portrayed as a cannibalistic spirit, its existence had been verified by numerous reports, and was now a fully accepted member of "Supernatural Beings of the Natural World."

I selected the "Find" option, typed in "wendigo," scrolled through a couple of mentions in earlier entries, and eventually came to the main entry, describing the fiendish beast. I read through what was written, and nodded grimly as descriptions of the wendigo matched up to descriptions of Clayton and his behavior.

Then, I heard a knock on the door, and it opened, admitting Donald Duke, one of my investigation partners. He was in his early thirties, slightly older than I was, but stood only at 5'4'', a good five inches below me. Early signs of aging had started to show; his blond hair had some (albeit not very noticeable) streaks of white in it. He was short-tempered, and sometimes reluctant to do things, but, when it came down to it, had a good heart and was loyal when it counted. "Sora," he said, in his higher-than-normal voice. "Early again."

"Getting a head start on the day."

He peered at me. "You seem kinda tired. Did you get enough sleep last night?"

I blinked as the memory of my dream came back to me. "I, uh, had a bit of trouble sleeping," I admitted, "but I'm feeling fine now."

"Well, make sure you stay well-rested. Something could come up at any moment." He crossed over to his desk and set his stuff down. "Speaking of which, you looking at the Clayton case?"

I nodded and turned back to the screen. "It's looking more and more like a case of a wendigo."

"You sure?"

"I can't be certain of anything yet, but the details line up. Secret life, pale complexion, fondness for meat…it's adding up."

"But you haven't ruled out that it may be a vampire, right?"

I grinned. "Eager to see one? Want to see if it sparkles?"

Donald flipped me off. "You know I know that's merely a fictional representation. And quit making fun of me; I have interests, and you have yours."

"But vampire romance novels? Can you blame me?"

"Oh, shut up."

I chuckled, but then, my smile dropped as I thought of something. This couldn't be the case I had dreamed about, could it? …No, if Clayton was a wendigo, he wouldn't leave bloodless corpses on the floor, just bones. Besides, he was too big and broad of a man to be the figure I had seen in my dream. I relaxed, then chastised myself for doing so. Just because this case didn't match up with my dream didn't mean that it would be safe…or that I would get out alive.

Donald, meanwhile, had booted up his computer: a brand new MacBook Pro, to replace the old, slow one that he had, one day, in a fit of frustration, thrown across the room and broke. Fortunately, his new one gave him very little trouble, and remained intact. "Have you checked Clayton's past records, to see where he lived and if there have been any missing persons there? We're not even sure he's a supernatural creature at all."

"I know," I said. "I'll have to ask Lea to do a background search." I mentioned a good friend of mine, who worked in the police department and to whom I often turned if I needed to look something up in police records. "Might as well do it now." I opened my email, hit the "Compose" button, typed in Lea's email address, and wrote,

_Dear Lea,_

_If you have the time, could I get you to do a favor for me? I'm looking into a guy by the name of Robert Clayton, and was wondering if he has ever lived in a place with reports of missing persons nearby. Would it be possible for you to look into the police records and find that out?_

_Thanks,_

_Sora_

I hit the "send" button, just as the door opened again, and in walked my second partner: James "Goofy" Gorsch, a slender, fairly tall man who always seemed ready to brighten the mood with his silly antics (hence his nickname). "Hey, guys," he said cheerfully. "How are things?"

"Mysterious," I replied, grinning at him.

He chuckled. "I guess that's to be expected here, huh?"

His laughter was infectious, and soon had the three of us all had bright smiles on our faces. "Still working on the Clayton case?" asked Goofy, going over to his desk.

"Yeah, Sora's still convinced it's a wendigo," said Donald.

"Wendigo…" said Goofy. "That's that Native American spirit, right?"

"More or less," I said. "They start out as weak spirits, then possess a human that begins to show an inclination towards eating human flesh. Thank God they're not just disembodied spirits, though, or they'd be a bitch to take out."

Goofy made a face. "Do we have to kill them?"

I shook my head. "Not always, but there are sometimes when you've gotta, ya know? These creatures can be particularly aggressive."

"How do you kill a wendigo, again?" asked Donald, pulling up another copy of "Supernatural Beings of the Natural World."

"I think just like you'd kill a human," I said, turning to my computer. "Hang on a minute—"

"What's up?"

"Some more details about wendigos that I overlooked." I read out loud, "The wendigo may start out with the semblance of a gaunt, pale human, but after having fed on a few humans, it begins to become more savage, with an even more pale and gaunt look. Its lips become a deep blood red, and it may increase in size. Most importantly, however, its desire for human flesh grows, and it begins to feed more and more often. At this point, the human that has been possessed by the wendigo spirit is considered to be lost entirely to the influence of the spirit, and must be killed along with it."

"Wait, does that mean there's a way to release the human without killing them?" asked Goofy.

I scrolled through the document. "Depends on how many people they've eaten. If it's only one, it's possible to dispel the spirit through intensive therapy. If it's two or three, it's still possible, but much, much more difficult. If it's more than three, it's usually hopeless."

"Well, let's hope Clayton hasn't been too indulgent so far," said Goofy.

"Hopefully, we'll soon know," I said. "I emailed Lea asking him to do a background check on Clayton, and find out if there have been any missing persons where he's lived."

Goofy nodded. "Good thinking."

We spent the rest of the morning going over the details of wendigos, and what we would do if Clayton turned out to be one. A lot depended upon how many people he had killed, which I didn't think would be more than two or three, since he didn't seem too pale, big, and ravenous. Of course, the problem was proving anything; suspicion of being a wendigo would hardly hold up as a valid reason for interrogating him. "Maybe we could just ask him how he's doing?" suggested Goofy.

"How would that work?" I asked.

"Tell him that Jane's concerned about him, and ask how he's doing. Maybe throw in a few subtleties, like ask him how he's eating."

I thought. "That might work. Though we'd have to be careful about it."

We also double-checked most of the entries in "Supernatural Beings of the Natural World," to be sure that a wendigo was the most likely possibility. Eventually, even Donald was convinced, and we returned to planning for a wendigo. I also got an email from Lea asking what Clayton's address was; there was more than one Robert Clayton in the area. I gave it to him, and he promised to call me back later with results.

* * *

We went out for lunch around noon, and, as we were in public, refrained from talking about business. Instead, we made casual conversation. "So, Donald, how's Daisy doing?" I asked, referring to Donald's girlfriend.

"Ah, Daisy," he said. "A wonderful girl, but boy, can she be a hassle."

"Seems kind of contradictory," I said.

"Not at all. You need a girlfriend, Sora. Then you'll know what I'm talking about."

I made a face. "Yeah, 'cause the last one worked out so well."

"Oh, get an open mind," my partner retorted. "You find the right woman, and it really changes your life."

I didn't like the way the conversation was going, but, mercifully, my phone chose that moment to ring, and I stepped away to excuse myself. I looked at the number, saw it was Lea, and answered. "Hey, Lea."

"Sora! How you doing?"

"I'm holding up. And you?"

"Fine, fine. Anyways, I did some work on Clayton; not a very busy day at the office."

"What'd you find out?"

"Well, he was born and grew up in Lake Ojibwe, Ohio."

"Lake Ojibwe? Is that Native American?"

"Yeah, the Ojibwe were a Native American tribe. Why does that matter?"

I hesitated. "No reason." Lea didn't know about my…peculiar occupation, and I figured that the fewer people knew, the better. "You were saying Clayton was born and raised there."

"Oh, yeah. Apparently, his family's been living there for a several generations, so it has a lot of value to them. But, one day, he put the house on the market and moved to New York."

"Any idea why?"

"It did happen soon after the disappearance of a young couple that lived in the area. Think Clayton could have had something to do with that?"

"Might've." I frowned. If Clayton had caused their disappearance, then he had most likely eaten them both, and would be harder to save from the wendigo spirit.

Lea spoke again. "Also, it seemed Clayton was having a bit of financial trouble at the time. Apparently, his family had been large promoters of Native American culture, and his contribution was to gamble money away at Indian casinos. The reason he gave for leaving Lake Ojibwe was that he needed to restart his life. His house got a fair amount of money, I heard."

_Financial trouble…_ If Clayton had been low on funds, that also meant he might have been low on food. Could he have turned to cannibalism? It was starting to come together. "Thanks, Lea. Do you think you could get me images of Clayton, before and after the couple disappeared, and of the couple themselves?"

"Sure. Looking for signs of guilt, or satisfaction in his face?"

"Something like that."

"All right, well, that shouldn't be a problem. Anything else?"

I thought. "I think that's it for now. Thanks again."

"No problem, Sora. I needed something to do today. I'll send you the pictures as soon as I'm done with lunch."

"Sounds good. I'll get them as soon as I'm done with lunch."

Lea laughed. "Sounds like a plan. All right, see you later, Sora."

"Bye, Lea."

I hung up and returned to the table, where Donald and Goofy were looking at me. "That was Lea?" asked Donald. "What'd he say?"

I sat down and lowered my voice. "He said Clayton used to live in Lake Ojibwe, named after a Native American tribe, and that his family had lived there for generations."  
"Native American?" said Goofy.

"Yep," I said. "But one day, he just sold his house and left. And, get this—it was right after the disappearance of a nearby couple."

Both my partners raised their eyebrows. "You think he killed them?" said Donald in an undertone.

"I think it's possible," I said. "Especially since he was apparently in a bad financial position at the time. If he had been unable to get food elsewhere, his thoughts might have turned to cannibalism."

"And the wendigo spirit would have possessed him," said Goofy.

"Right," I said. "I asked Lea to send me some pictures of Clayton, before and after the couple's disappearance, and the couple themselves."

"Think that'll help?" asked Donald.

"Let's hope so. Because if we don't act quickly, Jane Porter could be Clayton's next victim."

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**So, there's Chapter 1. Review as you please. If you liked it, tell me what you liked. If you didn't, tell me what I could improve upon, so that I can take that into account for next time. I'm always looking to improve what I can.  
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**Chapter 2 will be up soon.  
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	2. Jane Porter

**Thanks to those of you who read and/or reviewed. And now, I present the second chapter in my tale.**

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We returned to the office several minutes later, and I opened my computer to find links to newspaper articles, containing the photos I had asked for. "Excellent," I said.

"You got the pictures?" asked Goofy.

"Better; Lea sent me links to newspaper articles that have both pictures and stories."

"Nice," said Donald, coming over to look. "What's the scoop?"

I opened each of the links. There were three articles—one entitled "Robert Clayton Inherits Family Legacy," one entitled "Disappearance of Local Couple Mystifies Authorities," and one entitled "Longtime Resident of Lake Ojibwe to Sell House."

"Looks like Lea sent you a gold mine," said Donald.

"_Three_ gold mines," I said. "Good thing Lake Ojibwe keeps up with the times so well."

"How's that?"

"By having newspaper articles online."

"Ah, yes."

Goofy came over to join us, and we all read the first article, featuring Clayton's inheritance:

_With the recent death of his father, Mr. Matthew Clayton, Robert Clayton has inherited both his father's house, a large brick dwelling in the center of town, and his family's legacy. The last of the Claytons, a family living in Lake Ojibwe for generations, Robert Clayton now carries the responsibility of continuing his family's work of preserving the Native American culture that has been a part of the town for centuries._

"_I fully intend to continue this noble tradition of the Claytons'," Clayton commented, "and hope to, one day, see my children and grandchildren do the same."_

_The Claytons' efforts to keep Native American culture alive have included the establishment and continued support of the Lake Ojibwe Museum of Native American Culture, encouragement of focus of Native American ways in local schools, and outspoken support of the preservation of Native American reservations. Clayton has stated that he is already making plans to "donate to many of the Native American-related establishments around the area."_

I snorted. "That means gamble away his money at the Indian Casinos," I said when the others had finished reading. I then turned my attention to the picture at the top of the article: of a fit, healthy-looking man, in contrast to the pale, gaunt man I had seen in recent days.

"He has a lot of connection to the Native Americans," said Goofy. "Maybe that's why he was possessed by the wendigo spirit?"

"Could have something to do with it," I said. I went to the next tab, the article about the missing couple:

_Authorities have still found no traces of Peter and Wendy Pann, a local couple who went missing last week after Peter's boss noticed he did not come in on Monday. After calling the house several times, he asked a coworker and friend of Peter, who reported the house empty. Local police were called in when none of their family or friends had heard anything about the couple leaving._

_Police have questioned several suspects, but have found no concrete leads. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of these two, please call the Lake Ojibwe Police at 1-513-555-9902._

Included was a photo of the two. I studied it. Peter Pann was probably in his late twenties, though the baby fat he retained suggested a younger age. He looked cheerful in the picture, and I felt a stab of sadness as I contemplated that this was probably a man who was a victim of murder and cannibalism. Wendy had a similar look to her husband, and—I felt another stab of tragedy—she was pregnant. Had Clayton picked her because of that? Extra meat for him? I averted my eyes, unwilling to continue to look at the image of the young, promising couple whose lives had almost certainly been tragically cut short.

"Horrible, isn't it?" said Goofy, noticing my reaction.

I nodded. "If Clayton turns out to be their killer, I'm going to have a hard time holding back."

Donald nodded grimly. "I know what you mean."

Unwilling to dwell on such matters, I clicked on the third and final article, and found myself presented with an image of Robert Clayton, as he was preparing to make his leave of Lake Ojibwe. The change in him was drastic. He looked much more gaunt and white, and there was a slight red tinge to his lips. And, I might have been imagining it, but he did seem bigger than in the previous image.

Donald and Goofy noticed the difference, too. "Is that the same guy as before?" said Donald.

"Sure is," I said. "And now I'm almost entirely convinced. Robert Clayton, at some point after inheriting his family's house and roles, was possessed by the spirit of a wendigo, and killed and ate Peter Pann, Wendy Pann, and their unborn child." Anxiety clawed at my insides. "This is worse than I hoped. He's eaten three people—"

"Two, technically," interjected Donald. "Depending on where she was in her preg—"

"Not now," I said. "I don't think the behavior of wendigos is concerned with the whole when-does-a-person-become-a-person debate. Wendy was pretty far along in her pregnancy, so that baby would have had time to grow and develop human flesh. That's what increases a wendigo's power."

Donald conceded, and our political differences were forgotten. "So, it's farther along than we thought," said Goofy.

"Provided Clayton hasn't eaten anyone in New York," I said. "The city's so big, someone could go missing and easily be overlooked."

"But you said a wendigo becomes more savage after its fourth person or so," said Donald. "So he can't have eaten that many others, or he'd be going crazy for meat."

"He seems to sate himself with non-human meat," observed Goofy.

"But I suspect that's only until he gets a chance to get more," I said. "And how better to lure someone into your trap than date them?"

"There are plenty of ways," said Donald. "If his girlfriend goes missing, won't he be the prime suspect?"

"I doubt he's thought that through," I said. "He's already lost some of his rational mind. He probably hasn't thought that through entirely. Or, maybe he's planning to leave human society entirely once he's finished with Jane."

"Why's that?" asked Donald.

"His transformation," I replied. "If he gets bigger, paler, and more savage, people are going to notice something strange."

"What can we do now, then?" asked Goofy.

I frowned. "I wish I could say this was enough, but it isn't. We need hard evidence to have justification for doing something about Clayton."

Goofy looked concerned. "Are you planning to kill him for certain?" Goofy didn't like violence.

"I'm preparing for the possibility, which I consider likely," I replied. "If there's a way out of it, I'll look for it, but I'm beginning to think there isn't." I paused. "I'm sorry."

Goofy sighed and gave a small shrug. "It's not your fault. I just sometimes wish people didn't have to kill each other."

"Don't we all." I frowned at the picture of Clayton on the screen. "We need to tell Porter about this."

"What, that her boyfriend's a wendigo?" asked Donald.

"Don't be an idiot," I said. "We'll tell her that we suspect that he's…dangerous. And maybe she'll have an idea as to how to trap him, and reveal his true intentions."

"Turning to the client to help us? Isn't that our job?"

I shot a look at Donald. "Do you have a better idea? We need to do this as quickly as possible, and I think Porter's our best bet."

Donald looked sideways at Goofy. After thinking for a moment, he nodded. "I think it's worth a shot," he said.

* * *

Porter had given me her number, so all it took was a quick call on my cell phone and we had a meeting arranged. Around two o'clock, someone knocked on the door. "Come in," I said, getting up. We had discussed what we would tell Porter, and I was not looking forward to delivering the message.

Jane Porter walked in, a timid-looking woman with long brown hair. "Hello," she said, her speech tinged with her British accent.

"Ms. Porter. Thank you for seeing me."

"Oh, it was no problem." She shut the door and sat in the chair Goofy offered her. "Have you found out anything about Robert?"

"Well…" I never liked delivering bad news, but it was something I had found myself doing on more than one occasion. "We have no proof, but our research has turned up some…possibly disturbing findings. How well do you known him?"

She looked taken aback. "Well, I've only known him for about a month, and we've been dating for a little under a week. I'd like to say I know him pretty well, but…" She shrugged. "Well, I wasn't sure. That's why I came here."

"So you are aware you may find out something about him that you do not like?"

She looked fearful. "Why?"

"Because we suspect something that isn't pretty. Are you prepared to hear it?"

She drew herself up, unsuccessfully trying to conceal her anxiety, and nodded.

I took a breath. "We have reason to believe Robert Clayton is a serial killer."

Porter gasped, and turned almost as white as her boyfriend. "What?" she said in almost a whisper.

I nodded grimly. "And worse. His pale complexion and erratic behavior may be a sign of degrading health, caused by…are you ready?"

She didn't answer, but I went on anyway. "Caused by cannibalism. Robert Clayton, we believe, has killed and ate people." We had decided that we could tell her this, since, after all, you didn't need to be a wendigo to eat other people. To her, it would seem a little out there, but less so than if we told her the truth.

Porter looked at me for a moment, barely comprehending. "Surely…surely you…you must be mistaken," she said. "How…how can that be possible?"

My face darkened. "Some people have deep psychological disorders. They're very messed up in the head."

_Very technical terms,_ a part of my mind sneered at me. I ignored it, preoccupied by Porter's reaction. "Would you like something to drink, Miss Porter?"

She nodded very faintly. Goofy rose, went to the water cooler we kept in the office, filled a cup with water, and walked it back to her. She took it with a trembling hand and drank. "Unfortunately," I said, "we do not have enough evidence to convict him, and as long as we don't, you are in—"

"Hold on a moment," she said, lifting her face to look at me. "You say you're not certain of this."

"I am certain enough."

"But you could be mistaken."

"I very much doubt that."

"You're not answering my question." She was on the offensive now.

I sighed. "There is a slight chance that I could be mistaken. But I—"

She cut me off again. "And so, without any evidence to support your claim, you call me over and tell me your suspicions, based on information I don't even know about, and which are almost ridiculously fantastic. You nearly gave me a heart attack, Mr. Parker. My family happens to have a history of weak heart health. How would you like it if your information had caused my heart to give out? You'd be left with a dead person on your hands, and on your conscience. What if Robert wasn't even what you said? Then what?"

This was _not_ going in the direction I had intended. "Miss Porter, our—"

She stood up. "I don't know what sort of business you run here, Mr. Parker, but it is not to my satisfaction. Thank you for your effort, but it is no longer required." And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed out.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered under my breath. Donald, Goofy, and I rose to our feet. "Miss Porter!" I strode over to the door and opened it, to see Porter walking briskly towards the elevator. "Miss Porter, please wait!"

She did not. "So, Miss Porter, you are willing to go back to him, after what I told you?"

That slowed her down. I continued. "I realize I'm throwing modesty out the window here, Miss Porter, but I have solved quite a number of cases like yours. I have learned to follow my intuitions, and they have, consistently, led me to the truth. I want to help you, Miss Porter, and see that you do not end up as another victim of Robert Clayton's. If I am correct, then it may very well end up saving your life. If I am incorrect, then that will be a great source of embarrassment and discrediting, yes, but isn't that infinitely preferable to you losing your life?"

She stood still, still facing away from me. I felt my heart pounding; this woman's fate could very well rely on the choice she made next. Finally, she slowly turned around. "Mr. Taiko said that you were an investigator of great prowess."

I nodded.

"And he is one of the most renowned detectives in the area."

I nodded again.

"And it is your professional opinion that I am in danger of being killed…and eaten…by Robert?"

I hesitated for a split second, then nodded again.

Porter continued to stand still. Then, she blew out a sigh. "Very well. I…I just found it hard to believe."

"I don't blame you at all, Miss Porter," I said. "Cases like this are very rarely heard of."

"But you say you have dealt with similar cases before."

"I have. I have experience with this sort of happening."

She looked at me. "Then I shall do my best to put my trust in you, Mr. Parker."

I bowed my head. "Thank you, Miss Porter. That is all I ask for."

* * *

We managed to get Porter back to my office, and after filling her in on what we had discovered (again, omitting anything related to the supernatural), we began to discuss our plan to convict Clayton. "It won't be easy," I said. "If we were to conduct an investigation into the deaths of the couple that went missing back in Lake Ojibwe, it could take a long time, and I don't want to take that risk."

"I can avoid him for the next few days, to give you time," Porter suggested.

I was pleased by her offer, but turned it down. "He might get suspicious. There's no telling what he'll do; his brain could have been affected by consuming human flesh, and he might be more prone to his primal feelings."

She nodded. "I have noticed behavior of that sort."

"Besides," I continued, "there's no guarantee that we'll find anything in Lake Ojibwe. I—and my partners—have decided that the most likely way of catching Mr. Clayton is to catch him in the act. There are two ways of doing that—and we can get by with either one. The first is to have one of us entice him. Get him to attack one of us, and show his true nature."

Porter nodded. "What's the second?"

I hesitated. "The second option—and remember, we do this only if you want to—is to entice him to you."

Her expression froze. "I thought you said you wanted to save me from him."

"And we do. That is our number-one priority. However, if we are correct, then he has had his eyes on you for at least as long as you've been dating, probably longer. He will be predisposed towards targeting you, and if he is pushed in that direction, he may carry out his plans, and we can catch him doing so."

Her look of fear had resurfaced. "What did you have in mind for that plan?"

"He would invite you to dinner at his house. Has he done so yet?"

She shook her head. "Then he is probably planning to carry out his plans once he does," I said.

"How would you get him to do that?"

"I have something in mind, which would involve me confronting him and getting him to think that it would be easy and convenient to get you to disappear at dinner."

She paled slightly. "Remember, we can work with either plan, if you don't want to do that one," I said.

"But not either plan would work equally well," she said. "I can tell; you think the second one is the better one."

I made a mental note to work on concealing my features better. "Do not think that that means that I am pressuring you into—"

"I'll do it."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm willing to try. You are a professional, and I'm sure you know what you're doing. If you believe that it is the better one, for…for catching Robert and for saving me, then I can find a way to put aside my fears and do what I need to."

I'll admit, I was surprised. I had pegged her as a timid young woman, but here was a spark—no, more than that, a flame—of courage rising up in her. I smiled. "I commend you for your bravery, Miss Porter. I assure you, we will make the most of the opportunity you are allowing us to take."

We went over the plan for another half hour, until Porter was satisfied—well, satisfied enough—and had left. "Now for Clayton?" asked Goofy.

I nodded. "Now for Clayton. I'll handle the actual confrontation." I looked at both my partners. "Unless either of you want to do it."

Donald chuckled. "Does it say our names on the door? Nah, Sora. You're the head honcho; you can do all that work."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically as I prepared to send another email to Lea. "You're a real pal, Donald. Always there when I need you."

"I'm sorry, did you ask for one of us to do it? I didn't hear any such query."

I forced back a grin. "Wise-ass."

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**There you are. Hope you enjoyed it.  
**

**For those of you who are wondering where Kairi is and what the heck I'm doing with this unrelated case, I put it in for two reasons: one, to give you a sense of the sort of stuff that Sora does; and two, because I wanted to briefly feature a lesser-known supernatural being—Kairi's appearance will involve a much more traditional creature (not going to give it away, but a lot of you can probably guess what I'm talking about). So, there's this chapter, one more entirely devoted to this case, and then we move on to different things.  
**


	3. Facing the Beast

**Time for Chapter 3! Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed; I'm glad I've been able to entertain you all, and I hope I will continue to do so.**

**But enough waiting. Let's get reading!  
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Lea, fortunately, was off-duty that night, so he was able to help us. We arranged to meet with him at five-thirty, provided that the first stages of our plan went well. _Provided that…_ Well, that was a risky statement. In my experience, things rarely went exactly according to plan. I just hoped that it wouldn't throw us off entirely.

At five o'clock, I stationed myself in front of the warehouse where Clayton worked (his work information having been provided by Lea), ready to intercept him as he came out. Here was the first thing that could go wrong; he might have gotten out early, or he might be leaving a different way. But, fortunately, luck decided to remain in my favor, and, a few minutes after five, I saw the large, pale figure of Robert Clayton lumbering out of the warehouse and head towards his car. I walked forward to intercept him. "Mr. Clayton?"

He turned, narrowed his eyes at me. "Yes?"

I held out a hand, which he hesitantly shook. "My name is Sora Parker. I'm a private investigator."

Instantly, fear flashed across his face, a sign of guilt; if he had been innocent, what reason would there be to be frightened? "What do you want?" His tone had become harsher.

"I just wanted to check in with you," I replied.

"What?" he said. "What business is that of yours?"

"Well," I said, "Jane Porter asked me to."

He frowned. "What? Why?"

"Oh, she's just been concerned with you." I peered in at him. "You seem rather pale, Mr. Clayton. Are you doing all right?"

"That's none of your goddamn business," he snapped.

"I only want to help," I said calmly. "Miss Porter cares about you, and I want to make sure that she does not have anything serious to worry about."

His face lightened somewhat, though he kept the scowl; I imagined the mention of Porter reminded him that he had to keep up with appearances. "Well, that's nice," he admitted grudgingly, "but no, I'm fine." He turned to walk to his car.

"Are you eating well, Mr. Clayton?"

That was the kicker—if he really was a wendigo, he would detect the hidden meaning behind that statement, and while he might not actually suspect me of knowing, he would throw up his guard even further.

He froze, and in that moment, any doubt I had had vanished. "What do you mean by that?"

I guessed it took all of his self-control to not lash out at me. "Just checking. A healthy diet is important for a healthy body. Make sure you're getting a balance of vegetables, fruits, carbs, protein…"

He whirled around, eyes blazing. "Listen, you meddling piece of shit," he snarled. "Leave me alone, or…"

I narrowed my eyes. "Or what?"

He let his threat hang. "Just cut it out."

Time for the crucial bit. "If you're so certain, why don't you show her? Make her see that you're doing all right, and I won't have to check up on you. Invite her to dinner or something."

Clayton looked at me through narrowed eyes. I hoped that meant he was thinking over my proposal. "I'll think about it," he said.

Now for the final clincher. "Just make sure she doesn't drive through the westernmost part of the city. There have been reports about people disappearing there, most likely killed and robbed by some local scumbags." I shook my head grimly. "Terrible business. But I've heard the police are closing in, and the whole business should stop soon. I just think that if you have her over for dinner, say, tonight or tomorrow, the risk would still be there."

He kept his face expressionless, though a couple of tiny signs suggested that, inside, he was leaping for joy and the chance I had just given him. "Very well, Mr. Parker," he said curtly. "Thank you for your suggestion."

I forced back my surprise; he was actually _thanking_ me? He must really be eager to eat Porter. "No problem, Mr. Clayton."

He nodded goodbye at me, then went off to his car. I turned and left, too, hoping that this first part of my plan would yield the results I wanted.

* * *

At five-thirty, I met with Donald, Goofy, and Porter in the corner of a local coffee shop. "You said your contact in the police will meet us here?" Porter asked.

I nodded. "He may be a little late, but he'll be here."

We waited in silence. Just a couple of minutes earlier, Porter had received a call from Clayton inviting her to dinner at his house that night at seven. So the first part of my plan was successful. But I knew not to get cocky; there was a lot more to do, and so many more things that could go wrong.

About five minutes later, the door swung open, and in walked Lea, bright red spiky hair standing out like a flame. He walked over to our table, and we got up to greet him. "Good to see you, Lea," I said with a smile.

"Any time, Sora." He returned the smile as we shook hands, then greeted Donald and Goofy as well. "And you must be Jane Porter," he said, turning to her. "The name's Lea Fiers."

She shook his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

He pulled up a chair. "So, he told you about his suspicions?" I had told Lea the same thing I had told Porter, when we had arranged to meet up.

She nodded. "Have you ever heard of anything like that?"

"Yeah," he said. "I've heard of a lot of messed-up cases like that. And I'm not surprised that one has popped up here, given the sheer size of the surrounding population. Stuff like this does happen, though fortunately quite rarely." He turned to me. "So, what's up so far, and what will be up later?"

I told him of my conversation with Clayton, and how I had baited him into setting his trap. "And it worked; just a few minutes ago, Miss Porter—"

She interrupted. "You may call me Jane. I think we've reached that point now."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Certainly, Jane. Well, Jane just got a call from Clayton, inviting her to dinner tonight."

"And you think he's planning to kill her and make it look like the guys on the west side did it," said Lea. "Which, by the way, is a blatant lie; there's no activity of that sort going on en masse there or anywhere else at the moment."

I flashed him a sly grin. "Yes, I know that. And you know that. But I'm willing to bet Clayton doesn't know that."

"Ah." He nodded. "Clever."

"Thank you."

"I have to admit, I'm almost impressed."

I made a face. "Thanks. I'm almost not insulted."

He laughed. "Kidding. Good job, Sora." He returned to his businesslike attitude. "So, we've given Clayton the opportunity, and he's taken it. Now what?"

I held up my phone. "Now this."

Lea looked at it, then said in a mocking tone, "Wow. Brilliant plan, Sora. I don't think I could have come up with a better one."

"I haven't explained the plan yet, idiot," I said. "We'll use this to listen to what's going on in the house. We don't have access to any of the high-tech listening equipment, so we're going to go with this."

"Use it how?" asked Lea.

"I'll give it to Jane," I said, "and, before she goes in, Donald will call the phone, and she will answer, turn it on speaker, and leave it on. That way, she'll have a phone that's transmitting to us everything that's going on in the house."

"Will it pick up everything?" asked Lea.

"It'll pick up enough," I said. "So long as she keeps it in her shirt pocket."

Lea nodded, then frowned as he thought of something else. "And how will we be able to help her?"

"We'll be right across the street," I said. "If we hear that Jane is in danger, we can break in and help her. That's probable cause, right?"

"I'm sure it could pass," said Lea. "But…" He glanced at Jane, then turned back to me. "Mind if we step outside for a sec?"

"Okay." I got up and followed him out, noticing Jane's concerned look. "What's up?"

He frowned. "I'm still concerned about Jane. You're asking her to do something extremely risky. What if Clayton finds out?"

"He has no way of knowing that we're purposefully listening to them," I said. "And even if he suspects, we'll be right outside. This isn't like people wearing a wire, looking to get evidence, Lea. If things go south, we'll be able to respond in seconds."

"That might be too much," he said. "He could kill her in a heartbeat. What if he strikes her with a blunt or sharp object all of a sudden? Or what if he puts poison in her dinner?"

"I've thought of those," I said. "I…" I looked around, then said, more quietly, "I can't say she's entirely, one hundred percent safe from something like that. But I don't think he'll poison her if he plans to eat her; he wouldn't want to taint the meat. And she'll be on her guard, so it'll be difficult for him to catch her unprepared and strike her down unexpectedly."

"Then what are you hoping will happen?"

"What am I hoping?" I exhaled. "The ideal situation is that Clayton invites Jane in, makes some threatening gesture or comment, advances on her, she calls for help, and we go in. We force Clayton to stand down, and he does."

"And you think we can get enough evidence to convict him? You don't have a whole lot so far, and with a good lawyer, he can worm his way out of what we'd get from tonight."

"But would he be able to think so well?" I countered. "He seems to have lost a lot of his rational thinking. Besides, we can get more evidence once we've investigated the disappearance of the Panns back in Lake Ojibwe."

"You can't get it now?"

"I don't want to risk Clayton making his move before we're ready. Besides, we've already set the bait, and he's taken it. We have to act now."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is risky, Sora…"

"Of course it's risky," I said. "Did you think we could just ask Clayton and he'd tell us? Did you think we could drill into his head and find out all his secrets? Did you think we could give Jane some sort of magical, all-purpose protection? We're only human, Lea. We have limitations, and we have to work around those. This is far from perfect, but it's the best option I could think of."

He looked uncomfortable. "I guess…I just wish we had a better chance."

I nodded. "That's the case a lot of the time, Lea. But, unfortunately, we can't control that."

"No."

Lea being as satisfied as he was going to get, we went back inside, then went over the plans with Donald, Goofy, and Jane, preparing for whatever eventualities we could think of. At six-fifteen, Jane excused herself, saying that it would look suspicious if she didn't prepare at all for dinner. "And you need forty-five minutes?" I said.

The others shot me a look. "What? I want to make sure we use as much time as possible getting ready."

"Thank you, Sora," said Jane (we were both now on first-name terms), "but I'm as confident as I'm going to get, and I think it's best if we just go ahead and do this." She smiled nervously at us, said, "I'll see you tonight, then," and walked out.

Donald turned back to me. "Actually, I'm surprised she was willing to stay this late."

I frowned. "What is it with women and needing to take so long to get ready?"

Donald shook his head. "Sora, you just don't understand women."

"Apparently not. Care to explain?"

Lea interrupted. "Maybe later. Right now, we need to prepare."

I nodded grimly. "Right. Let's go."

* * *

Forty minutes later, the four of us were seated in Donald's black SUV, parked across the street from Clayton's house, a small dwelling on the outskirts of the city. On each of our laps was a gun, loaded and ready for use. Even the peaceful Goofy had one; we had convinced him to have one for show if nothing else, and he had only fired it five times in his entire career. This was partly because he left most of the shooting to me and Donald, and partly because he was often able to convince a suspect to stand down instead of engage in a firefight. I hoped that that might work tonight with Clayton, but I was nervous that his lack of rational thought might prevent that.

I sighed. "Got the jitters?" asked Goofy.

"Of course," I said.

He reached over and put a steadying hand on my shoulder. "I know how ya feel," he said, "but we'll do it. We'll save Jane and put a stop to Clayton."

I forced a smile. "Yeah," I said, emboldened by Goofy's confidence.

Suddenly, a car engine sounded in the distance, getting closer. Lea perked up. "This could be it," he said.

Sure enough, a tan sedan pulled onto the street, turned into Clayton's driveway, and stopped. "Call her now, Donald," I said.

Donald got out his phone, hit a button on his speed dial, and held it up to his ear. It rang once, then was answered. "Hello," said Jane.

I took the phone. "Hi, Jane. We're right across the street. Just yell if anything goes wrong, and we'll be right there."

"Okay." Her voice shook slightly, but she sounded determined.

"Don't worry," I said. "We're in control here. You'll be fine."

She paused. "Thank you." Then, I heard the sound become slightly muffled as she tucked the phone into her shirt pocket.

I nodded at the others. "Okay, let's go." I put the phone on speaker and held it up for the others to hear.

The car door opened. Due to the dim light and distance, we could only barely make out the shape of Jane getting out of the car and walking to the front door. She rang the doorbell, and waited a couple of minutes before the door opened, and the large figure of Robert Clayton filled the doorway. "Jane!" we heard him say through the phone. "So good of you to come." The sound wasn't perfect, but we could hear well enough.

"Well, thank you for inviting me over, Robert," returned Jane.

"Please, come in."

She stepped inside, and the door swung shut, leaving us with no more visual connection to her. "She's in the belly of the beast now," said Donald in a low voice.

I motioned for him to be quiet; if Clayton heard us talking through the phone, it could ruin our entire plan. Fortunately, he had noticed nothing, and we heard the two exchange pleasantries as Clayton took Jane's coat. "A shirt and skirt, Jane?" Clayton commented. "You dressed up like this was a business meeting?"

"Do you not like it?" I couldn't tell if the disappointment in her voice was pretend or genuine. If she was acting, she was good at it.

"Oh, no, it's not that," Clayton assured her. "It's not what I expected, but not a disappointment, either."

I could almost hear the hunger in his voice, and found myself hoping that he would make his move sooner rather than later, so I wouldn't have to listen to him for much longer.

"What do you have for dinner tonight, Robert?" Jane asked.

"Oh, I've got a surprise cooked up for you," he said. "You'll have to wait to see what it is."

I could guess what that meant. I guessed Jane did, too, and I could only imagine what it must take for her to do what she was doing.

"Well, how long do I have to wait?" she asked. "Is it ready yet?"

"Almost," said Clayton. "But…" His voice dropped, and we had to lean in to catch what he said next. "I had another idea for what to do tonight."

I blinked. I'll admit, I hadn't been expecting this. This could make things a lot more awkward.

"What's that, Robert?"

"Well…how about we work up an appetite before dinner?"

There was a pause, then, "Robert, that's rather…forward."

"I apologize, Jane. It's just…you look so enticing. I could just eat you up."

Well, he was getting there, but it was rather unsettling.

"Why, thank you." Jane paused. "But I don't know, Robert. We've only been dating for a week, and this is the first time I've ever been to your house."

"Other people don't wait this long."

"Well, I'm not other people." Jane's voice rose. "Come, Robert. You don't just want me for _that_, do you?"

"No, no. Of course not." Clayton was pulling all the stops; I could hear his voice becoming smooth and polite. "But a woman as good-looking as you, Jane…why, a man can hardly restrain himself."

There was a brief silence. I bit my lip. Now Jane had to contend with someone who wanted to have sex with her, as well as wanted to eat her. This would complicate things. Then, I heard the sound of what was unmistakably kisses on the phone, and winced. I did not want to hear this…but if I had to in order to save Jane, I would. Looking around, I saw my companions with similar expressions. Except…Donald didn't look hopeful, did he?

"Robert…" I heard Jane say.

"Come now, my sweet," he said. There was more silence, but as I could still hear Jane's breathing (rather heavily, I might add), I knew she was okay. At least, for the moment.

Then, disaster struck. "Here, I'll take your phone," said Clayton.

"Oh, no, I've…" Jane trailed off.

There was a pause, then Clayton said, "Who's Donald?"

"D-Donald?" said Jane.

"Yes, Donald. According to your phone, he's calling you right now."

None of us breathed. This was terrible. Our cover was blown.

"Donald?" said Jane again. But then, "Oh, Donald! That must be my cousin Donald."

"You never mentioned a cousin."

"I haven't told you everything about myself, Robert. No, I'm sorry, I must have pocket-dialed him."

There was another brief silence. Then, Clayton said, "Well, we won't be needing him tonight…" and ended the call.

Total silence dominated the SUV. Then, I whispered frantically, "Shit! He hung up!"

"Yeah, I think that's pretty obvious," said Lea. "What now?"

"We have to improvise," I said.

"Can we call her back?" Goofy suggested.

I shook my head. "That wouldn't work. She wouldn't pick up; Clayton's right there."

We all thought for a second, then Goofy made another suggestion. "Well, they didn't go much past the front door, did they? Maybe we could go up to it and listen."

"Put our ears to the door and listen?" said Lea. "Well, I can't think of any better ideas."

Quickly, the four of us got out of the car and dashed across the street and Clayton's front lawn to the front door. Crouching next to it, we leaned our heads in and strained our ears. "I can't hear anything," whispered Goofy. "Do ya think they're still there?"

I couldn't hear anything, either. But then, I caught something. Something small, but there. "Does…does that sound like someone choking?"

Lea leaned in. "Maybe. Or…someone being strangled."

We all looked at each other. "Probable cause?" I asked.

But before Lea could answer, there came another sound, much more audible: the sound of something heavy falling to the floor. Closely following that was a hissed exclamation, that sounded to me like, "You bitch!"

"That's probable," said Lea, straightened up, and knocked on the door. "Mr. Clayton? This is the police."

I kept my ear to the door, and heard Clayton say, "What? You brought them here?"

"Mr. Clayton, please open the door," called Lea, a little louder, getting his gun ready.

Still no response. As I listened, I heard a sort of low croak, and Clayton saying, "Then _die_."

"Go!" I yelled to Lea. Not asking questions, he kicked the door, and it flung open, to show Clayton leaning over Jane, one hand clenched around her throat and one drawn back in a fist, ready to punch the life out of his girlfriend. "Don't move!" yelled Lea, pointing his gun at Clayton.

Clayton glanced up, snarled, then dropped Jane and ran. "Get back here!" yelled Lea, running after him. I ran into the house, closely followed by Donald and Goofy. Jane sunk to the floor, gasping for air. "Look after her!" I barked and Donald and Goofy, then joined Lea in the chase.

We followed Clayton out the back door, which led to a wooded area. "He either went in there or went around the house," said Lea.

I nodded. "You check the house. I'll go into the woods."

"It's dangerous to separate, Sora."

"Do you want to catch this guy or not?"

Lea made a frustrated exclamation, but nodded. I raced out the door and into the trees while he surveyed the back of the house carefully, gun at the ready.

I was more confident Clayton was in the woods; the wilderness was more a wendigo's scene than a house. "Clayton?" I called. "You can't hide from me."

I looked around me, keeping alert, then continued. "I know what you are, Clayton. You're a wendigo, right? Turned to cannibalism after you emptied your funds into the casinos?"

The forest was still dead silent. "You shouldn't have picked the Panns, Clayton. A young couple, expecting a baby? I will hunt you down for that. You will never be able to get away from me. I know all about your kind. I will know where to look, how to look. Give yourself up now, or face worse consequences."

Behind me, a leaf crackled. I spun around just in time to see Clayton lunge at me. Instinctively, I raised my gun and fired twice, hitting him in the torso. He staggered back, with small cries of pain. But that was not enough to fell him for good. As he recovered, he looked up at me, pure hatred in his eyes.

I aimed the gun at his forehead. "Don't make me do this, Clayton. There are other ways."

Apparently, he didn't think so. With a roar, he charged at me, and I pulled the trigger.

A final shot sounded out, and a bullet hole appeared in the middle of Clayton's forehead. He stood still for a second, then toppled over, a screech emitting from his throat as he did, getting fainter and fainter. I knew that that was the sound of the wendigo spirit dying. _And good riddance,_ I couldn't help but think.

I approached the body cautiously, and nudged it with my foot. Clayton made no response. I walked around him, then knelt so that my face was inches from his. "You sought out to hurt others," I said harshly. "Well, this is what happens to those who do." Then, I rose, and turned back to the house.

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**Well, that concludes Clayton's reign of terror. Next time, we'll move on to someone else...  
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**Also, a quick note: I'm back at school now, so I'll have class and work and stuff to occupy my time, and I may not get around to updating as quickly as I have been doing so far. But, I'll try to keep the waits as short as I can.  
**

**Until next chapter!  
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	4. The Missing Student

**And here's the next chapter! Sorry it took a few days; like I said, I'm back at school, and have that work to deal with. But the weekend means free time, and free time means writing!**

**So, the Clayton case has been dealt with, but there's another one that will play a much greater role in Sora's life...  
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I sat in my office chair and stifled a yawn. The case had kept me from some sleep…but at least the nightmare hadn't made a reappearance.

It was the morning on the second day after I shot Clayton. Upon hearing the gunshots, Lea had come running, and I had told him what had happened. He had called in the case, and Jane had been transported to the hospital. Apparently, Clayton had, while caressing her face, moved his hands to her neck, and attempted to strangle her. Fortunately, she had been able to knock over a small desk in the front hall, which had caught our attention. Upon hearing that the police were at his door, Clayton had blamed her, and would have beaten her to death had Lea not intervened when he did.

Naturally, the police chief had wanted to know about the case. When I told him about my investigations, he had seemed skeptical at my lack of evidence, but agreed to send a small team to look into the disappearance of the Panns. Fortunately, as there was no one who knew Clayton well enough to request a thorough investigation of his death, he didn't seem too invested in this, and so even my limited information (omitting the parts about the wendigo) had seemed to suffice. Lea had helped, too.

Now, I was waiting for Jane, who had been released the previous evening—mercifully, her injuries were not too serious, and she would recover fully in a few days. But it was time to close the case. I had discussed it with Donald and Goofy, and, since we felt responsible for nearly causing her death, we had agreed to cut the usual price by half. (She had already paid some of the fee, but my policy was some up front and the rest upon completion.)

There came a knock on the door. "Come in," I called, and it opened, admitting Jane. "Jane," I said, getting up. "How are you?"

"Getting better," she said in a low and hoarse voice.

"Good to hear." I returned to my desk and motioned for her to take a seat.

"It's good to see you on your feet, Jane," said Goofy.

"Yeah," agreed Donald earnestly.

She smiled at them both, then turned to me. "You've saved my life, Sora. If it weren't for you, Robert would have almost certainly killed me."

"I only wish I could have done it without causing you so much damage," I said.

She shrugged. "You're a smaller investigator. You did the best with what you could."

"I am still responsible for what has happened to you." I folded my hands. "And in light of that, we have decided to reduce the fee for my services to half."

She frowned. "What? But…your life was in danger, too."

"My life is in danger all the time, Jane. It is nothing new to me. You, on the other hand, did not choose a dangerous lifestyle, and never asked to risk your life. I asked it of you, and I do not feel deserving of the full fee we discussed previously."

She stared at me for a moment. Then, she took out her checkbook and a pen, wrote a check, then tore it off and gave it to me. I took it, glanced down at it, and frowned. "This is the original amount we agreed on."

She nodded. "You don't know what that did to me, Sora. I may have almost died, but I also found the self-confidence to stare death in the face…literally. It has been a life-changing experience, and I have you to thank for it. So, please, take the full amount. You, and your partners, are very much deserving of it, indeed."

I felt humbled. "Thank you. Thank you very much, Jane."

She smiled at me. "I am not the one deserving of thanks, Sora." She stood up. "Well, I must be going." She held out a hand. "Once more, thank you for all that you have done."

I smiled back as I took her hand. "It's my pleasure. I wish you the best in all your future endeavors."

"You as well."

She bade goodbye to Donald and Goofy, similarly, and then left.

Donald grinned at me. "What do you think of her, Sora? Would she do for you?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Donald, that's very unprofessional. Besides, while she is a very nice and attractive woman, I never felt a particular attraction to her."

He shrugged. "Just checking."

I sat back down. "Stop trying to fix me up, Donald. I'll find a woman when I do, whenever—and wherever—that will be."

"Or man," said Goofy. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey, it's possible," he said. "Whatever floats your boat."

I grinned slightly. "Well, thanks for the open-mindedness, but I'm pretty sure I'm straight."

"You'd be missing out if you weren't," said Donald.

"That's hardly a valid statement," I countered. "A gay person could say that you're missing out because you're not gay."

Donald blinked. "Me? Gay?" He shook his head. "Can't imagine it," he said, a little quickly. (Donald wasn't homophobic, and was on the side of gay rights, but he was never entirely comfortable with the concept of being homosexual.)

Goofy, probably sensing Donald's unease, changed the subject. "We don't have any more cases lined up, do we?"

I shook my head. "We're a small-time investigation company, so, unfortunately, that means we don't get a lot of business."

"And most of it is what Riku sends our way," added Donald. "_He's_ a real hotshot detective."

"Yeah," I said, "but that can be a curse as well as a blessing."

"Why's that?" asked Donald.

"Because so many people come to him, and keep him busy with a bunch of little jobs." I grinned. "He often complains about how often he has to investigate people because their spouse or significant other is worried they're cheating on them. Gets tedious after a while, apparently."

"But it brings in the cash."

"Well, yes," I conceded.

* * *

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully, with us chatting to pass the time. Or, rather, Goofy and I chatted, he getting back to his casual, silly self, and Donald piped in from time to time while playing games on his computer. Very often, if he heard a fragment of something that sounded interesting, he would look up and say, "What?" and we had to either explain what we were talking about or tell him he should have been paying attention. That didn't please him too much, and so he would sullenly return to his games until hearing something else that caught his attention, and the process would repeat itself.

After going out for lunch, we returned to another hour or so of quiet before there came a knock on the door. Instantly, the three of us perked up; a potential job was enough to get our attention. "Come in," I called.

The door opened, and in walked a young man. Really young, actually—he looked barely out of high school. "Um, Mr. Parker?" he said nervously.

I nodded. "That's me. Come on in."

He did so, closing the door behind him. As he looked unsure of where to sit, I gestured towards the chair in front of my desk, and he sat. "What do you need?" I asked.

"Well…" he said hesitantly, "I thought…you'd be the best person to ask…I mean, I don't think you're dishonest or anything, but I thought maybe a more high-profile detective would have more of a connection with the police…Not that I have anything wrong with the police," he added hastily.

I frowned; I had no idea what this kid was talking about. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean."

He took a breath. "Sorry. Uh, well…oh! My name's Pence. Pence Edgarton."

"Pleased to meet you," I responded. "I'm Sora Parker, and these are my partners, Donald Duke and James Gorsch."

Donald and Goofy smiled and nodded at the newcomer. He smiled, though I could still tell he was on edge. "Nice to meet you, too."

I folded my hands and looked over at him. "So, what exactly is it that you're here for? Forget the police for the moment, or whatever you were thinking of that involved them. Just tell me what's going on." I motioned to Donald and Goofy, and they began taking notes on their computers.

Pence swallowed. "Well, okay. See, I'm a college student, down at Columbia."

I raised my eyebrows slightly. "Columbia? Good for you."

Pence flashed a nervous smile. "Thanks. Yeah, so…I'm a college student at Columbia, and so is my best friend, Hayner Michaels."

I nodded. "Uh-huh."

"And, well, he's missing."

I blinked. "Missing?"

Pence nodded. "Yeah, I haven't seen him since Saturday."

I frowned. "That's been four days. You waited this long?"

"Well…" He fidgeted. "I wasn't sure about going to the police…because of…some of the details."

"What sort of details?" When Pence didn't respond, I added, "I'm separate from the police. I won't tell them anything I don't have to."

He still looked uncertain, but said, "Well, okay." He took a breath. "Hayner, in the days before he disappeared, had been using a fake ID to go to bars."

"Hm," I said. "I see."

"So, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to the police, or an investigator like Riku Taiko, because it might get him in trouble."

I frowned. "I can understand that, but shouldn't your friend's safety come first?"

He sighed. "Yeah, but…"

I waved a hand. "Well, regardless. What were the circumstances of his disappearance?"

"Well, on Friday, he decided to go to a new bar, that he hadn't gone to before," said Pence. "And, well, I went with him. I usually do, to make sure he gets home safe and all."

I nodded. "Responsible."

"But I don't drink," he said quickly.

"Okay," I said. That was good; whatever information he gave would not be influenced by alcohol. "So, what happened that night, then?"

"Well, we got there, and Hayner goes to the bar and orders a drink. He gets it, and starts looking around for people to hang out with. But he doesn't have much luck, until a woman waved him over from a table in the corner."

I sensed we were getting somewhere. "A woman? What was she like?"

"Well, I didn't want to stare, so I didn't get a really close look at her," said Pence, "but I did see that she was pretty young, with red hair. And I don't mean, like a redhead. This was actual red hair, like, burgundy-colored."

"How young would you say she was, approximately?"

Pence shrugged. "I'd say…mid-twenties, maybe?"

"Any distinguishing characteristics?"

He shook his head. "None that I could see. She was kind of in shadow."

"In shadow?"

"Yeah, I barely got a look at her face, and I was able to judge her age from it, but not much more."

"Hm. What was her body type?"

"Pretty slim. Not so much so as to be unhealthy." He hesitated, then added, "Attractive, too."

I nodded. "All right. Well, we've got a description of the woman. What did she do?"

"I'm not sure exactly," said Pence. "I was standing at a distance, and the bar was loud, so I couldn't hear. But she was wearing sunglasses at first, and a scarf, which I wondered about. But after talking with Hayner for a couple minutes, she took them off." He frowned. "Then…"

I raised my eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Well, I'm not sure if it's significant…"

"Tell me anyway," I immediately said. "Sometimes, details that seem insignificant can turn out to be the most vital of all."

Pence nodded. "Okay. He seemed…much more compliant."

"Compliant how?"

"Well, like nodding to a lot of what she said. And he didn't seem to want to look away from her. Like he was really drawn to her, or something."

I frowned and tilted my head. Odd…I had expected this to be a "natural" case, i.e. one that didn't involve any supernatural creatures. But this was beginning to suggest that this case might be the kind that's right up my alley, after all. "Is this unusual behavior for him?"

"Kinda, yeah. He's much more the confident, loud type. I'd never seen him like that before."

"Did he stay like that for the rest of the night?"

"Yeah, for as long as we were there. Then the woman got up and left, leaving Hayner at the table. I had to go over and shake him, and even then he still seemed to be in a daze. He told me he had made plans to meet her the following afternoon, in Destiny Park. I was surprised, but I thought he had found someone that he really clicked with. I was…I was kinda happy for him. Even if she was a little older. I didn't think there was anything wrong, until…well, until he disappeared."

He finished and looked at me. "What do you think?" he asked.

I was silent. This _could_ be a natural case, but then how would that explain Hayner's compliance? It was if he had had a spell put on him. Which was entirely possible; this strange red-haired woman could be a witch. Or some other supernatural creature (or, in the case of witches, natural creature with supernatural abilities) that was able to entrance its victims. Unfortunately, there were plenty.

Finally, I spoke. "Thank you for coming to me, Pence. This is indeed a strange circumstance, but I will do my best to uncover whatever is behind it."

Pence broke into a smile. "Oh, thanks a lot, Mr. Parker. I'm—I'm pretty worried, to tell the truth."

I was, too, to tell the truth. Depending on who (or what) had caused Hayner's disappearance, he could be dead or alive, and even if he was alive, it might not be for long. I did not tell this to Pence, however; he seemed anxious enough already. "One more thing," I added. "Did you hear what the woman's name was?"

Pence thought. "Yeah, Hayner called her Rose."

"Rose…Good, then, we've got a name." So long as it was genuine, that is.

* * *

The discussion of my fee took a while. As Pence was only a college student, he did not have ready the same kind of money that a working adult would have, and therefore could not pay like one. I didn't want to let this case go, though; not only did I want to get to the bottom of Hayner's disappearance, but a case was still work, no matter how little it paid. In the end, we brought down the price to a satisfactory amount for the both of us (though I doubt it was the ideal amount for Donald). After getting the last of the details from him, I took down his contact information, in case we needed it. Then, with many profusely offered thanks, Pence took his leave.

It was mid-afternoon by that point, which didn't leave us much time in the day to work on the case. Still, we did what we could. "First things first," I said. "Does this look like a natural or supernatural case?"

Donald and Goofy spoke at the same time—Donald said "Supernatural," and Goofy said "Natural."

They looked at each other. "Really? You think the way she managed to entrance him was natural?" said Donald.

"I don't think there's enough of an indication of supernatural activity," argued Goofy. "Maybe she's just really charismatic."

"But Pence said that it was particularly out of character for Hayner," I chimed in.

Goofy shrugged. "Maybe it was love at first sight." I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "It can exist, you know."

"Attraction, maybe," I said. "But you can't have actual 'love' at first sight. Love is something that takes time to accumulate. At least, that's my opinion.

"But we're getting off track. You both have a point: Hayner's behavioral transformation does raise suspicion, but it could have a natural explanation behind it, too. Either way, I think one thing is certain."

"What's that?" asked Donald.

"We need to find this red-haired woman, this Rose. Whether she's guilty or not, finding her will give us a clue as to Hayner's whereabouts."

"That's easy to say," said Goofy, "but how will we go about doing that? We don't know where she lives, or even what her full name is."

"Could we ask for Lea to look her up for us?" asked Donald.

"We could," I said, "but it might not get us anywhere. She may have dyed her hair, changed her name, and even moved from a previous location." I turned to my computer. "Still, I guess there's no harm in trying."

I typed out an email to Lea, adding that, if he didn't have the time, we could get along without him looking her up. "Now what?" asked Donald after I had sent it.

"Now…" I thought. "Now we head over to the bar Pence mentioned and see if the bartender saw anything, or knows her. She may be a regular."

They agreed, and we grabbed our coats and headed out.

* * *

The bar was a bit of a walk away, but it was good exercise. (Donald wasn't thrilled about it, and grumbled along the way, but stuck with us nevertheless.) As it was still the afternoon on a weekday, there were not many patrons, and getting an audience with the bartender was not a difficult task. Unfortunately, he didn't have much to offer. "I'm not in on weekends," he said. "You want Aeleus Rocklin. He'd have been there, but I don't think he'd have noticed anyone."

"Could I have his address, regardless?" I asked.

"Well, he works weekdays from nine to five, so he'd still be at his job. I can tell you where he works."

"That'd be great, thanks."

He gave me the information, and we set off again. This time, the distance was great enough for us to take a taxi. A few minutes later, we arrived at our destination: a construction site, where a crew of workers was setting up some sort of new building. We got out, paid the taxi driver, and asked him to wait, and approached the site. As we drew nearer, a well-built man with rusty hair came over to us. "Can I help you?"

I nodded. "Yes, I'm Sora Parker. I'm a private investigator, and I was looking for Aeleus Rocklin."

"You're talking to him."

I blinked. "Well, then, Mr. Rocklin, do you have a minute?"

He frowned and looked back at the site. "Only if it really is a minute. What's this about?"

"I'm looking into the disappearance of one of the people who visited the bar where you work, last Friday night."

His frown deepened. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Well, I heard that the person in question had met up with a young, red-haired woman, by the name of Rose. I'd like to find her, and I was wondering if you knew anything about her."

"Why would I?"

"She might be a regular, or you might have seen her somewhere before."

He shook his head. "I don't know anyone named Rose."

"Did you see the person I'm talking about, then?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I see a lot of people, Mr. Parker. You'll have to be more specific than young and red-haired."

"Well, not like a redhead. Her hair is actually red, like the color of burgundy. It goes down about to her shoulders. And she was sitting in the corner, in shadow."

Aeleus's eyes narrowed. "Was she wearing sunglasses and a scarf over her mouth?"

I nodded. "She was. Did you see her?"

"I did," said the bartender. "I noticed she was trying to cover herself up. Why else would you wear sunglasses indoors and a scarf in the spring?"

"Right," I said, already liking this guy; his powers of observation would make him a great asset in the investigation world. "So, what did you see? Had you seen her before?"

Aeleus shook his head. "No, she was new. If you want to know anything about her, I won't be able to help you."

This was disappointing, but it didn't mean I couldn't get any more information from him. "Do you remember what she did?"

He thought. "Not much, as I recall. Ordered a drink, went to the table in the corner, and sat there. I wasn't consciously keeping an eye on her, but I do recall another guy walking over to her."

"And you didn't see what transpired there?"

"No. I don't spy on people's more intimate activities."

I didn't want to get on his bad side, so I said, "Forgive me, I didn't mean to insinuate that you would."

"No offense taken. I didn't notice anything else about her, except her leaving."

I nodded. This wasn't the most helpful information I could have, but knowledge was knowledge, and I might be able to use it. "Very well."

He glanced back towards the construction site. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that will be all. Thank you for your time, Mr. Rocklin."

"You're welcome, Mr. Parker. Good luck in your investigation."

"Thank you. Hope your construction project goes well."

His mouth twitched in what I suspected was his version of a smile, and he turned around and walked back to his work.

"Well, that didn't work out," said Donald.

"It wasn't a complete waste," I said. "Now we know that she doesn't frequent the same bar, so staking it out won't help us."

"What will, then?" asked Donald. "We can't just go around to every bar in the city; that'll take forever."

"Well, let's see what Lea has for us," I said, as we climbed back into the taxi.

* * *

Unfortunately, as I discovered when we returned to our office, Lea had work to do, and didn't have the time to perform the search. "That's not helpful," said Donald.

I had to agree with him. "It may not have gotten us anything, anyway."

"What can we do, then?" said Goofy. "What about the park Pence mentioned, where Hayner was supposed to meet Rose?"

"I can hardly see that helping," I said. "Anyone could easily meet up there without arousing suspicion. And there's no one like a bartender that can oversee the entire place at the same time."

We sighed, and sank into our chairs simultaneously. "Well, guys," I said, "I don't see what else we can do." A slight grin appeared on my face. "Hope you feel like bar hopping."

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**So, what will happen next? Who is this mysterious woman, and what, if anything, has she done with Hayner? Keep reading to find out!  
**


	5. A Lunchtime Conversation

**Well, I've been spending probably more time than I should on not doing homework, but, hey, what the heck. Here's Chapter 5.**

**Oh, and I noticed a mistake in the previous chapter; Sora said that it had been four days since Saturday, when Hayner disappeared, which would make the current day Wednesday. However, it's a Thursday when Pence comes to him. The explanation for that is that Sora's bad at counting.  
**

**But enough about my screw-ups. It's story time!  
**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0  
**

Come night, the three of us went out, splitting up to cover more ground. (We had agreed to text the other two if we found a woman like to the one Pence had described.) Unfortunately, due to the sheer number of bars in the area, the search took a while. Even when we didn't linger in any of the bars for long, it was past midnight when we finished them all, and even then, we went back and swept over several more, in case she had arrived at one of them after we had left. But, nothing. "Well, it's only Thursday," I said when we congregated after our search. "Not many people frequent bars on Thursdays. Maybe we'll have better luck tomorrow."

Donald groaned. "Tomorrow? Sora, it's almost three in the morning."

"We have to keep going, Donald," I said. "We can't just leave Hayner to the mercy of this woman."

"Then let's keep going tomorrow," he grumbled. "I'm going to bed. And I'll be coming in late tomorrow."

I knew better than to object. And, to be honest, I felt similarly. "Yeah, I think we can afford a later morning tomorrow."

"Good. Good night." Donald walked off, occasionally staggering to exaggerate his level of fatigue. Less dramatically, Goofy and I took our leaves, as well.

* * *

Unfortunately, Morpheus must have had something against me, because that night, the nightmare struck again. Again the dungeon, again the figure, again the corpses…again the fear. I woke up just past six, unsettled. _This is nothing,_ I tried to tell myself. _It's my subconscious being afraid of some of the things I have to confront. It's not a premonition of any kind. My life is not predetermined._

Eventually, I managed to calm down enough in order to get back to sleep.

* * *

It was a little past eleven when I woke up again. I was still a little tired, but this was late enough to sleep in; I did have some other things I could do today. So, somewhat reluctantly, I got up, showered, dressed, ate breakfast, and headed out.

As I made my way to my workplace, I noticed a message on my phone, from Riku. "Hey, Sora," his voice said when I played it. "I was thinking that it's been a while since we've seen each other, so do you want to get together for lunch today? I'd be willing to take a break around 12:30, does that work for you? And if Donald and Goofy want to come along, too, that'd be great. Get back to me whenever you can."

I smiled. Lunch with Riku sounded like a very nice idea. We could catch up and enjoy each other's company for a bit. Besides, he was right; it had been a while since we'd gotten together like that. I called him back, and he answered. "Hey, Sora."

"Hey, Riku. How're you doing?"

"I'm holding up. You?"

"Same. I just got your message about lunch."

"Just now? Busy morning?"

"Uh…in a way."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. Anyways, I'd be glad to get lunch with you today."

"Great! What about Donald and Goofy?"

"I haven't checked in with them yet, but I'm sure they'd be glad to join us."

"You haven't checked in with them yet? Are you even at your office?"

"Uh…" A yawn interrupted my answer, which did not go unheard by Riku.

"Don't tell me you just got up."

"I had a very late night, okay?"

"Doing what?"

"For your information, I was working on a case."

"Really?" He sounded interested, which he was—Riku always liked hearing about my cases. "I'll be interested to hear the details. It must have been quite something to make you sleep in so late." He chuckled. "Then again, you always have been the lazier one."

"Yeah, when we were kids."

"Of course. You're a big boy now."

"Shut up. You're only a year older than I am."

"Physically, yes. Emotionally, I could be your father."

"Oh, you're hilarious."

He laughed. "So, lunch at 12:30?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Where?"

"Selphie's Diner work for you?"

"Of course."

"All right, then. Meet you there."

"Okay. Bye."

"Later."

* * *

Goofy was already at the office when I got there, having arrived just a few minutes prior. After we greeted each other, I told him about Riku's offer for lunch, and he immediately got on board. "What about Donald?" I asked.

"Good question," said Goofy. "Probably still sleeping."

I rubbed my eyes. "Can't say I blame him…But hopefully he'll be in by 12:30."

Goofy sat down. "What are we gonna do today? We can't go around browsing bars until later tonight."

I shrugged. "Whatever we can. I was thinking of…"

We discussed possible courses of action to take until 12:05, when I decided to call Donald's house. "H'lo?" he answered groggily, after the fourth ring.

"Donald? It's Sora."

"Sora…whaddaya want?"

"You coming in soon?"

"No."

"Riku's invited us to lunch."

That gave Donald pause for thought; a free meal was always something he was fond of. "When?"

"Twenty-five minutes."

I heard him groan on the other end of the line, and then say, "All right. Just gimme a few minutes to…" he yawned loudly, "get ready."

"Okay," I said. "Just make sure you're here soon. Actually, you can meet us there. It's Selphie's Diner. You remember where that is, right?"

"Yeah."

"See you there at 12:30?"

"Sure."

"Okay, then."

"Bye." He hung up.

"Donald's in?" asked Goofy.

"Yep. Woke him up, but he said he'd come."

"Great."

We continued to go over the case for another fifteen minutes, and then decided it was time to head out. Selphie's Diner was a short walk away from my office, and it had become a favorite location for Riku, Donald, Goofy, and me. The proprietor, Selphie Tilmitt, was a cheerful woman in her mid-thirties who had come to know us well, and always greeted us when we came. That day was no exception; when Goofy and I arrived, she bounded up to us and gave us both a hug. "Good to see you both again!" she said after releasing us. "It's been a little while!"

"It has," I agreed. "Everything holding up?"

"Peachy," she replied, still smiling. "Table for how many?"

"Four," I said. "Riku and Donald will be joining us later."

"Excellent. Right this way, then."

She led us to a table sandwiched between two booths, promised to have a waiter over momentarily, and dashed back behind her counter. "Good to see things are going well with her," said Goofy.

"Yup." I picked up my menu, even though I had a pretty good idea already of what I wanted. A quick glance to see if anything else caught my eye, and I made my decision final. "You know what you're getting?" I asked Goofy, whose menu was lying untouched in front of him.

He nodded. "Dingo Burger. You?"

"Tuna melt." I grinned. "They don't get any better."

"Just make sure you don't overindulge yourself. Too much tuna can lead to mercury poisoning."

"I know."

Just then, a waitress walked up to our table. She was young—probably only nineteen or twenty—and pretty, with brown hair that hung below her shoulders. "Hi," she said cheerily. "How are you today?"

"We're doing all right, thanks," I replied.

"Good to hear. My name's Olette, and I'll be your server today. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"I'd like an iced tea, please," said Goofy.

"Sure," said Olette, making a note. "And you?" She turned to me.

"I'll have a Coke."

Olette made another note, said, "Great! Be back in a minute," and left.

"Haven't seen her around before," I commented.

"Must be new," said Goofy. "She's really young."

"Probably a college student," I said.

"Wonder if she knows Pence."

"I doubt it. She might not go to Columbia, and even if she did, it's a big enough school that everyone would know only a small fraction of the population."

"Yeah, I guess."

Behind me, I heard the door opened, and turned my head to see Riku walk in, and receive a greeting from Selphie. She seemed quite enthusiastic to see him, and for good reason; Riku was exceedingly handsome, as many women (and some men) had noticed. Standing tall at exactly six feet, with long silver hair and a fit figure, he would often draw the gazes of surrounding people. I'll admit, I was a little jealous—though less so than I had been when we were kids together.

Selphie led Riku over to our table, and we rose to greet him. "Good to see you, Riku," I said, hugging him.

"You, too," he said. He released me and turned to Goofy. "Goofy, nice to see you, as well."

"Likewise," said Goofy, also hugging him.

We took our seats. Riku sat next to Goofy, across from me, just as Olette came over with our drinks. "Here you go," she said.

"Thank you," I said.

Seeing that we had been joined by someone else, Olette turned to Riku to ask him what he wanted, but was struck for a second by a man of his beauty looking directly at her. (His face was another of his very appealing characteristics: handsome, with a hint of Asian features in it—Riku's father was Japanese.) Fortunately, he had had experience with this and had anticipated her question, so he said, "I'll just have water, please."

Olette blinked. "Right. Water." She smiled. "I'll get it right to you." She turned and walked off, a little quicker than usual.

I looked at Riku. "Do you know how many people would kill to have that effect on women?"

"Too many," he said. "I wouldn't mind being treated like everyone else by every straight woman I met."

I shrugged. "Hey, don't complain. A lot of people envy you."

"That's something I wouldn't mind doing away with, too." He changed the subject. "You told me how the Porter case ended, but the only things I know about it are from a quick email from you and a small news article online. What happened?" He lowered his voice slightly. "Did it turn out to be your kind of case?"

I nodded, and launched into the story of Jane and Clayton, telling him how I developed my suspicions from initial observations, and how Lea's findings strengthened them. It was then that Olette returned with Riku's water, going red as she gave it to him. "Thank you," he said, which made her blush even more.

"You're welcome," she managed to say. "Are you ready to order?"

"Oh, damn, I forgot to look at the menu," said Riku. "But that's all right. I'll have…the chicken wrap, please. Hold the mayo."

She nodded eagerly and wrote it down. To make sure that she wouldn't forget us, I spoke up as she finished. "Could I have the tuna melt, please?" As she wrote, I said to my companions, "Should we order for Donald?"

Riku looked at his watch. "Running behind schedule."

"He slept in even later than—"

I was interrupted when the door opened again, and the sound of Donald's panting reached my ears. The three of us looked over to see him leaning against the counter, out of breath. "Donald!" I called.

He noticed us and headed over, after waving hello to Selphie. "Sorry I'm late," he said as he sat down.

"It's fine. We were just ordering now."

"You were?" He looked up at Olette, who was glancing at him with a bemused expression. "Uh…I'll just have the turkey sandwich."

She nodded and wrote it down. "And you, sir?" she asked Goofy.

"I'll have the Dingo Burger, please."

"Certainly." We gave her our menus, and she took them and said, "I'll be back with your food shortly."

"Thank you," said Riku warmly, causing her to turn red once again, and walk away rather quickly.

I looked at him. "That was mean."

"What? I can't be polite?"

"Oh, never mind."

"Yes. You were telling me about the Porter case."

I continued my narrative where I had left off, with Donald and Goofy occasionally chiming in. We told Riku about meeting with Jane, setting up our plan, and its execution. His face was grim as we recounted the trouble we had run into, and how both Jane and I had come close to being killed. "That was dangerous," he said when we had finished, "but I'm glad it worked out."

"Yeah, no kidding," I said.

"Now, you said Clayton was a wendigo?" said Riku in a low voice.

I nodded. "Heard of them?"

"Once or twice. They're not very popular."

"That's because they're weak spirits. They can only take over someone if the thought of cannibalism enters their mind, independently of the spirit's influence. So, fortunately, there haven't been too many occurrences."

"I guess." He leaned forward. "What about this other case you're taking on? The one that kept you up so late? I know nothing about it."

"No, you didn't recommend the client to me," I said (with a slight hint of pride). "He's actually a college student, here at Columbia."

Riku raised his eyebrows. "A college student? That's unusual."

"Yeah, but he needed my help."

"Needed? Is it something he could have told the police?"

Donald, Goofy and I glanced at each other. "Actually, he specifically said he was reluctant to get the police involved."

Riku frowned. "Why?"

The information was confidential, but I trusted Riku more than anyone, and knew that he would not go to the police if I asked him not to. "His friend disappeared, who had been using a fake ID to get into bars and drink."

"Ah. And he didn't want to get his friend in trouble."

"Right."

"What's his name?"

"The friend or my client?"

"Well, both, I guess."

"His friend's name is Hayner Michaels, and his name is—"

"Pence!" said Goofy.

I nodded. "Precisely."

"No, I mean…Pence is here."

"What?"

Donald and I turned around. Sure enough, Pence was standing in the front of the diner, looking around as if searching for someone. "What's he doing here?" Donald asked.

I shook my head. "Dunno."

We weren't far from the front, so we could hear Selphie greeting him. "Welcome back! It's…Pence, isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Selphie laughed. "Pence, we've been over this. You don't have to call me 'ma'am.' Makes me feel old."

"Sorry, ma—Miss Tilmitt."

"You can dispense with that, too. Call me Selphie. 'Kay?"

"S-sure."

"Great. Now, come this way."

She led him in our direction, and Donald and I ducked down. "What are you doing?" asked Riku.

"It'd be awkward to run into him here," I said in a low voice.

"Why?"

"We're discussing his case." Plus, I didn't want him to think that us being here meant that we were taking a lax approach to his case. Unlikely, yes, but for an investigator like me, I needed all the positive opinions I could get.

Riku sighed, but said nothing. Meanwhile, I heard Selphie seat Pence down at the booth right behind us. _Damn,_ I thought. _I won't be able to discuss his case freely with him right there._

"A server will be right with you," said Selphie.

"Okay," came Pence's nervous voice.

I frowned and leaned across the table to Riku. "I don't want to discuss his case here, with him right behind me."

Riku nodded. "I can understand that."

A second later, Olette returned with our food. "Thank you very much," I said, before Riku could make her blush again. She smiled, then moved on to the table behind us. "Pence!" I heard her say. "Good to see you again!"

I blinked. _Did_ those two know each other, after all?

"H-hey, Olette." The combination of nervousness and happiness in his voice gave me a suspicion as to why Pence was there.

"How are you holding up?"

"Ah…well, I'm kinda nervous. Scared."

"I can imagine. Have you gone to the police yet?"

Pence mumbled something that sounded like, "I don't want to get him in trouble."

"He could be in trouble already, Pence. A lot more trouble than he'd be in if he was caught using a fake ID."

"Well, I did hire a private investigator."

"An investigator? Pence, you don't have that much money."

"Oh, it's fine. He was willing to bring the price down to something I can pay."

"But still, it's money. And he wouldn't have as many resources as the police would."

"He said he's solved a lot of cases."

"He can say whatever he wants, Pence, but that doesn't mean it's true."

My eyes narrowed, even though I had to admit, she had a point.

"He seems okay."

"I think you should go to the police, Pence."

"But…"

"Hayner will be better off convicted with something small like using a fake ID than in the clutches of a kidnapper, or wherever he is."

"But…what about the investigator? I've already hired him. Shouldn't I at least give him a chance?"

Olette sighed. "Pence…"

"D-do I just tell him I've decided to use someone else? That would be rude, wouldn't it?"

"But it might get better results."

Pence said nothing for a moment. Then, "I'll check back with him this weekend, and see how he's doing."

"And if he hasn't done anything, will you go to the police?"

A pause. "Maybe."

"Well, just make sure you're not leaving Hayner hanging." She took a breath. "So, what can I get you?"

I tuned out of their conversation at that point, and looked up at my companions. Like me, none of them had touched their food, and I guessed they had all listened to the same thing I had. It left us all concerned; _would_ I be able to find Hayner in time?

Suddenly, I was seized by an intense determination. I would. I would find Hayner, no matter what it took. I would send more emails to Lea, or do the research myself. I would do everything I could to find this mysterious woman. And if that didn't work, I would bar hop tonight like an alcoholic rabbit. (Okay, that was a bad joke. But you know what I mean.) I grabbed my tuna melt and shoved it into my mouth, wanting to leave as much time as possible to work on the case. "Sora, slow down," said Riku.

I shook my head, cramming another bite in. "Gorra ge' awuk," I said.

Riku raised an eyebrow, but didn't try to persuade me further, and began eating his meal. Donald and Goofy followed suit, but their paces were slow enough that I finished a good deal before them. "Sora, you're gonna have a stomachache," said Goofy.

I shook my head. "Can't put this case on hold." I looked at Riku. "Riku, you mind picking up the check? I'll pay you back."

"I was planning on doing it anyway," he said.

"Thanks," I said. "Sorry I for cutting this short."

He shrugged. "Duty calls. And, in your case, it sounds like time does matter."

I nodded, got up, and strode out.

* * *

That afternoon, I pushed myself to get as much done concerning this case as possible. I sent an email to Lea asking him to check for people fitting Rose's description, but added that this time, it was urgent. That done, I went to Columbia itself, to find out what I could about Hayner, and if he had told anyone else about his rendezvous with Rose. By that time, Donald and Goofy had joined me, though they did have trouble keeping up with the pace I set.

I found out that Hayner was on the fencing team, and had, in fact, gotten into Columbia on a fencing scholarship. He often hung out with several other members of the team, but none of them had reported hearing anything from him on Saturday, when he had disappeared. Several of them didn't know he had disappeared; apparently, Pence was keeping people going with a story that he was really sick, with mono. I suspected it was to keep the police out of it. I couldn't help but wonder if Olette was right—maybe Pence should have gone to the police immediately, and damn the consequences for Hayner. But, he hadn't, and we had to work with what we were given.

The other fencers did say that Hayner had been acting a little out of sorts on Saturday, and their descriptions were similar to Pence's: much more reserved and less loud, like he was deep in thought. They hadn't thought it was anything serious, though. I asked them if there would be anyone else that he interacted with on Saturday, and they doubted it; he usually didn't get up before noon, and it was only three o'clock when Hayner was due to meet Rose.

When I was done questioning them, I checked my email, and saw that Lea had done as I requested, but there was nothing about a young, red-haired (actually red) woman living in the area, or who had gone missing in the area. There were a few people whose driver's licenses had them with red hair, but they were either too heavy, too young, too old, tattooed, or not Caucasian. I was getting frustrated; we had nothing. "Nothing!" I said. "We don't know anything more about this woman than we did yesterday!"

"Calm down, Sora," said Goofy. "We have to keep trying. We'll get something eventually."

However, the rest of my day proved to be fruitless, increasing my frustration and forcing Donald and Goofy to calm me down more and more. Finally, I returned to my office, weary and angry, and sank into my chair. "Whoever she is, she's good," I said. "I just hope she's still in the area."

"We can keep trying to find out," said Goofy. "Come on, let's go get dinner."

"I can't…"

"Sora, you've been driving yourself relentlessly this entire day. Take a break, and then we'll check the bars again."

Donald nodded. "You're no use if you're spent."

I exhaled loudly. "Yeah, I guess."

"All right," said Donald. "Now, come on, let's find a place. Goofy's buying."

Goofy blinked. "Wait, what?"

* * *

Compared to lunch, dinner was a slow affair. I felt less rushed, but my heart still beat fast and hard. This was a possible matter of life and death, and it rested on my shoulders. But I didn't hurl my food down my throat this time, and forced myself to take it slower. Finally, though, we were done, and could resume our investigation. "Same tactic as before?" Goofy asked.

I nodded. "Split up, call or text if you find anything." I thought of something. "Actually, let's add something else. If it doesn't take too long, why don't we ask the bartenders to keep an eye out for us? We can give them our numbers and ask them to call if they find anything."

The other two agreed, and with that, we went off.

My search started out neither particularly good nor bad. I didn't find her, but the bartenders I talked to agreed to keep an eye out, and call me if they saw her. After several hours, however, I began to worry again. There was no sign of her, and the night was getting on. What if she didn't decide to visit another bar in the area?

I stepped into another bar, and was instantly assaulted by a blast of light and noise. Oh. This wasn't just a bar, it was a nightclub. And it was party night. People were dancing everywhere, with some electronic cacophony playing over speakers that, I decided, needed a much lower volume limit. Somehow enduring the attack on my eardrums, I made my way through the crowd, towards the bar counter. The bartender, a woman in her late twenties with blonde hair, turned to me as I approached. "What'll it be?" she asked.

I could barely hear her. It was a wonder anyone managed to communicate in this environment. "Actually, I'm looking for someone," I called over the music.

She raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"A red-haired girl. Like, actual red hair. Goes down to her shoulders, might be wearing sunglasses and a muffler?"

The bartender cocked her head to the side, as if in thought. "And you think I've seen her?"

"Have you?"

She looked at me like I had asked her if she had discovered a cure for cancer. "I don't memorize everyone's face that comes in here," she said.

I frowned. "So you haven't seen her."

She shrugged. "I might've. Might not have. Can't remember."

I withheld a scowl. "Do you mind if I look around?"

"Don't let me stop you."

I walked away from the bar just as someone called to the bartender, "Hey, Larxene! Another round!"

I scanned the dance floor, but it was impossible to identify anyone in the crowd. I didn't go too far in; getting any closer to the lights and music would have been too much for me. Retreating to the corner, I found myself standing next to a group of tables, where I guess people sat who didn't want to permanently damage their hearing. Sighing, I dropped into a chair and glanced around. There were a couple of other people seated at the tables. Some were drinking, some talking, and one was just sitting by herself…

I did a double take. Unless it was the light—and I didn't think it was—that was red hair. Down to her shoulders. And she could have been wanting to block out the light and sound, but I didn't think that was the reason for her sunglasses and scarf.

I think I had just found our mysterious woman.

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**So, all that searching paid off! But that wasn't even half the battle...Tune in next time to see what happens when Sora comes face-to-face with their mysterious woman!  
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	6. The Woman in the Nightclub

**Hello, readers! Sorry for the delay; I've had a busy week, and then suffered a period of no Internet connection. But I'm back, and with a new chapter to add to the story!**

**Also, thanks a lot for all of your reviews. As always, it's good to see my work going over so well with so many people!  
**

**Well, you've waited long enough. Let's find out what happens when Sora meets the mysterious woman...  
**

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Quickly, I texted Donald and Goofy, barely taking my eyes of my target. She had a drink but had barely touched it, and was surveying the scene casually, perhaps looking for someone like Hayner. I frowned. What did she want these people for? Was she a kidnapper, or something else?

Goofy, fortunately, was not long in coming, and somehow managed to make his way through the throng of dancing people to my table. "Hey!" he called.

"Hey." I responded.

He took a seat. "So, you found her?"

I nodded in her direction, and he looked over. "Wow," he said after turning back to me. "Good work, Sora. You found her."

I shrugged. "Any of us could have done it." I looked back at her. "Now, we have to decide what to do."

"Wait for her to leave, and follow her?" suggested Goofy.

I frowned. "Too risky. We may only have one shot at this." I bit my lip. "I'm thinking of just going up and talking to her."

Goofy raised his eyebrows. "Talking to her?"

I nodded. "It shouldn't raise too much suspicion. A man going up to a young woman to chat her up? It'd be more suspicious if I didn't."

Goofy looked over at her again. "Okay, you can try. But…" He hesitated. "Just…be careful. We don't know what she did to Hayner."

"I know. That's why I've got you—and Donald, when he gets here—to watch my back." I smiled at him, then stood up and, heart pounding, walked over to her. Her head turned slightly in my direction as I approached, and she fully faced me when I said, "This seat taken?"

She shook her head, and I sat. "Come to places like this often?" I said, trying to give off the impression of someone trying to pick up a girl.

"Occasionally," she said, her voice mildly muffled by the scarf.

I surveyed her. Up close, I could tell she was wearing a good deal of makeup. I gestured to her scarf. "Cold?"

"A little." She adjusted her sunglasses. "And then I have these damn things. I have to wear them for a certain period of time." She looked at me. "You got any eye problems?"

I shook my head. "No. I managed to dodge those." I grinned. "What's your name?"

"Iris. Yours?"

"Dave."

Okay, either she was lying about her name, or there just happened to be two people with the same physical description who went to bars on the weekend with sunglasses and scarves. And yeah, I was lying about my name, too, but until I knew more about this woman, I was giving her no information about myself. Well, except for my eye information. But millions of people had no problems with their eyes. Telling her that was harmless.

I look back on that now and laugh. How little I knew.

"Where are you from?" she asked.

"I live over in Brooklyn. You?"

"Queens."

"Born and raised?"

"No, I was born in Minnesota."

I raised my eyebrows. "Minnesota? That's a long way."

"Yes, but I'm getting along well here."

"Good."

She raised her wrist and pulled back her sleeve slightly to show a wristwatch. "You know, I think I've kept these on long enough," she said, reaching up to her sunglasses. I felt myself tense; Pence had said that Hayner's attitude had changed after Rose/Iris took off her glasses and scarf. What was she hiding? If it was anything, that is.

With a hand that I noticed was rather pale, she pulled off her glasses and opened her eyes. At first, I got quite a shock: her eyes were a vivid red, almost matching her hair exactly. What was that about?

But then, I relaxed. It was probably just the light. It just…didn't seem right for there to be anything wrong with Iris.

I frowned. When did I start thinking of her as Iris?

"That's better," she said, looking at me. "You don't think there's anything strange about me, do you?"

I blinked, feeling dazed. The day so far must have worn me out…I had done a lot, after all. "No, no," I assured her. Actually, now that I looked closer…no, her eyes weren't red. They were just a magnificent shade of violet. How pretty…I could look into those eyes for a long time.

"Good," she said. "And I think I'm warm enough." She took off her scarf and smiled. I thought I saw something funny then, but… "I look fine, right?" she said. "Perfectly normal."

Her voice was a sweet melody. Normal? She looked fantastic. "You look great," I said earnestly, smiling broadly.

"Why thank you," she said, and leaned forward. "I do love meeting new people."

"So do I." I laughed, feeling giddy.

She continued to smile, and I felt myself more and more drawn to her. How could I have ever suspected her of having something to do with Hayner's disappearance? Something probably happened to him on the way to meet her.

I frowned. _Hayner…_ That's right, I was supposed to be investigating his disappearance. Well, this was perfect. Iris could tell me what had happened, or at least what she knew. Yet this little part of my mind seemed to be nagging at me, though for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why.

"Is something wrong?" asked Iris, noticing my frown. "You can tell me."

"Well…" Surely there couldn't be any harm in telling her what I was doing? "I'm a private investigator, looking into the disappearance of Hayner Michaels. Did you meet him last Friday?"

She looked surprised. "Why, I did."

"Yeah, I heard you did," I said. "So I've been looking for you for a while, in case you knew something."

"Knew something? You don't suspect me, do you?"

Her face had a pleading look to it, so I hurried to dispel her fears. "No, no, of course not. But he went to meet you, and vanished. You might have seen or heard something."

She nodded. "You're right, I might have. You're an excellent investigator, Dave."

The fake name created a stab of guilt. Why had I lied to her? "Oh, thank you, but my name isn't actually Dave. It's Sora."

"Sora? Well, that's a much nicer name than Dave."

This woman sitting across from me was kindness and beauty personified. "Oh, thanks," I said, smiling still more broadly. "Your name is very pretty, too. Iris. Like the flower."

_Flower…_The word seemed to trigger something in my mind. Something else about her…and another flower? It didn't make sense, so I pushed it aside.

"Well, thank you, Sora. Now, about Hayner…" She thought, and I waited patiently. "Oh, yes. You know, I think I can help you out. Why don't we recreate the scene from last week? Come visit me in Destiny Park, tomorrow at three o'clock." She smiled. "I'm sure you've already figured out that that's when we were due to meet."

"Yes, I have," I replied, feeling quite proud of myself. I had known that, hadn't I?

"And I'll bet you've been running around these past few days to work out this case. Very busy, with no time for yourself, just to relax?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've been doing a lot."

"Well, why don't you take a break, then. Go home, relax, get some sleep. And I'll meet you tomorrow at three, and we'll do some more work on this case. Together."

_Together… _Could anything be better than teaming up with this goddess? Sure, Donald and Goofy had tried, but they had mostly just tagged along with me. I was the one who had gotten most of the work done, right? But Iris…Iris had some real promise. "I'd love to," I said.

"Excellent." She stood up, and I rose with her. "Well, I had better be going. But remember, I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's keep this rendezvous to ourselves. It'll be like a secret adventure." She grinned. "But a secret's no good if you tell it to everyone, right?"

"Yeah, of course," I agreed. A secret adventure? And I thought she couldn't make being with her more exciting.

"Great. Then I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Okay, Iris!"

With a final smile, she wrapped the scarf around her face, donned her sunglasses, and left.

I stood there for a moment, watching her, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Sora?"

I blinked, and turned to see Goofy looking at me, a hint of worry in his face. "You okay? What happened?"

I smiled. "She thinks she can help me. She…" I broke off; I had been about to tell him about our arrangement. Our _secret_ arrangement.

"Help? How?"

I thought quickly. How could I throw Goofy off without telling him? I could lie…

A part of my mind seemed to rebel furiously against that concept. Goofy was my friend. I shouldn't lie to him.

But then again, I had lied to Iris at first, too. Come to think about it, I hadn't told her at all about Donald and Goofy. Well, then, if I could keep information from her, I could certainly keep it from Goofy. "I can't tell you right now."

Goofy frowned. "Why not?"

"Oh…you'll find out." That didn't have to be a lie; I could tell him _after_ our meeting.

"Find out?" Goofy looked really concerned now, though I couldn't guess why. But before he could say anything else, Donald emerged from the crowd, staggering slightly. "H-hey, guys," he said. "Heard that Sora found Rose?"

I frowned. "Rose? You mean Iris?"

Donald turned to me. "Iris?" He looked unsteady. Had he gotten himself drunk? That was quite irresponsible of him. Was it any wonder I preferred Iris's help?

"Looks like she's using a different name," said Goofy.

Donald snorted. "Another flower? How cliché."

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Goofy turned to me. "Sora, don't you remember? Rose was the name she used when she met Hayner."

I blinked. Rose? "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Pence told us, remember?"

Pence? Oh…I understood. "He must have gotten the names mixed up," I said. "Rose, Iris…they're both flower names. In fact, I bet he saw her red hair, heard a flower name, and came up with Rose."

Donald raised an eyebrow. "What? Sora, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "I didn't go out and get drunk, like some people." I glared at him.

His mouth fell open. "Wha…? I'm not drunk."

"You're unsteady. You sure seem drunk."

"I may be a little tipsy, but I still have my mental facililties intact."

I snorted. "Mental facililties? You can't even say it right."

"Oh?" Donald took a step towards me. "Why don't you criticize me again? Then _you_ won't be able to say many things right." He held up a fist.

Goofy stepped in between us. "Guys, guys, don't fight here. Let's take it easy."

I looked disdainfully at the pair of them. "Yeah, let's go home. I've been working hard enough today. I need some sleep."

"I'll put you to sleep, Sora," said Donald threateningly.

"Donald, cut it out!" said Goofy. "I think…" He glanced at me, then whispered in Donald's ear. The music prevented me from hearing what he said, but I did see Donald blink and frown, then look at me. "You sure?" he said.

"He might," said Goofy. "He's been acting strange ever since meeting with her."

Were they talking about me? "What are you talking about?"

Goofy looked around. "Let's step outside."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to; the place reminded me of my meeting with Iris. It seemed so long ago, now. But Goofy was firm, so I followed him out of the nightclub. "What's your problem?" I asked.

Goofy looked directly at me. "Sora, what happened during your meeting with Iris?"

"Good to see you getting her name right," I said. "She was very nice, and, like I said, very helpful."

"Helpful how?"

"I told you, you'll see."

"I'll see? Sora, you're not acting like our partner."

Donald nodded, and stepped up to me to look into my eyes. "What did she do to you?"

I pushed him away. "She didn't do anything to me." I glared at them. "Except be a lot more helpful then _you've_ been."

Goofy looked hurt. "Sora, we've been doing the best we can. This is a hard case."

"Well, maybe your best isn't good enough."

Donald stepped forward. "That does it." He swung a fist at me, and caught me on the chin. I staggered backwards, my jaw hanging loose. "You want some more?" he asked.

I looked up at him. Goofy was holding him back, but he was trying to get free. "No," I said. "I don't want any more. Of you at all."

With that, I turned on my heel and marched off. "Sora!" came Goofy's call from behind me, but I ignored it. I didn't need them. What had they done? Followed me around while I did all the work. Anyone could do that. But Iris was planning to help me, actually help me. And I would much rather have her at my side than Donald or Goofy. I shook my head. _Goofy._ The nickname should have been an automatic tip-off; he wouldn't be any help at all. And Donald seemed to be content with grumbling, complaining, and getting drunk. Well, he could do that all he wanted now. I was going in a new direction, and it didn't involve them.

I arrived back at my apartment and got ready for bed, but had a hard time getting to sleep, thinking about my meeting with Iris tomorrow. I couldn't wait.

* * *

The next day, I woke up at ten, feeling good about the day. Today, Iris and I would get to the bottom of Hayner's disappearance. I took my time getting ready, making sure that I looked my best for my meeting. It wasn't for another several hours, but you could never be too early for these things. I spent almost an hour trying to get my hair to lie flat before giving it up, and trying to make it look as good as possible sticking up. I picked out my nicest clothes, and put on a bit of cologne. Finally, a hearty breakfast to face the day: oatmeal, toast, and a banana, with orange juice to drink.

Unfortunately, by the time I was done, it was only just noon, with three hours to go until my meeting. I was just wondering what to do when there came a knock on my door. My heart leapt: had Iris decided to meet up early? I ran to the door and opened it, only to find myself face-to-face with Riku. I struggled to conceal my disappointment, but then again, at least it wasn't Donald or Goofy. "Riku!" I said. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd stop by," my friend replied. "You looked disappointed when you opened the door."

I shrugged. "Sorry. I just…thought it might have been someone else."

"Iris?"

I looked up at him. "How'd you know?"

"Donald and Goofy mentioned her."

My face darkened. "So, what, you're here because of them?"

"No, I'm here to check things out for myself. They said they were worried about you, and I decided to come by and see how you were doing."

I shook my head. "You shouldn't have believed them. They couldn't investigate their way out of a paper bag."

He blinked, and shrugged. "Regardless, I thought I'd pay a visit. Mind if I come in?"

I thought for a second. I didn't want Donald and Goofy checking in on me, but Riku didn't seem like his being here was entirely for their benefit, and I did need to pass the time until three o'clock. "All right." I stepped back to let him in. "Well, then, how are you doing?"

"Fine," he said as I shut the door. "A bit of a lull in the cases right now."

"Oh? Well, I'm coming along pretty well with mine…without the help of Donald and Goofy."

"Really?" he said. "That's good to hear." He sniffed. "Is that cologne?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd…you know, liven things up a bit."

"Okay." He changed the subject. "So, I'm curious about this Iris. I heard that you met her last night and really hit it off."

I nodded eagerly. "Yeah, she's really nice. And pretty. I'm…" I broke off, having been about spill the beans about our meeting yet again. What was wrong with me? She had told me not to do it, and I couldn't follow one simple request? "I'm, uh, really eager to see her again."

"Hm. You've made plans, then?"

I shrugged and did not answer. "Ah, so it's a bit more complex than that," said Riku. "Right, then. Well, what did you find out about her? What does she like?"

I thought. "We didn't exactly talk about that."  
"What did you talk about?"

"Well, I mentioned what I did, and she seemed interested."

"You told her about your job? Did you mention Donald or Goofy?"

I shook my head. "She doesn't need to know about them."

"No, she doesn't…Did you mention your childhood at all?"

"No, I didn't."

"Hm. I was just remembering something we did when we were younger."

"What's that?"

He looked at me. "Do you remember my dad teaching us a special technique to ward off hypnotism and brainwashing? He gave us both a special word that would snap us back to reality if we ever fell under the influence."

I thought. "That does sound familiar. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "It just came back to me, that's all. Do you remember your word?"

I frowned as I thought back. For some reason, that part of my memory was fuzzy. "It must have slipped my mind. But I'm sure it'll come back to me if I ever need it."

"Well, that's just the thing," said Riku. "If we were ever under the influence of something, or someone, we would forget it, until it was uttered again, and it would trigger something in our brains."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you are no longer master of your own kingdom, Sora."

_Kingdom…kingdom…_ The word seemed to resonate in my head. I felt unsteady, and blinked several times. Something wasn't right…no, something wasn't right at all. A small part of my mind seemed to be getting louder and louder. This wasn't me. This acting strangely…berating Donald and Goofy, obsessing over some woman…it was wrong. It was all wrong. She must have done something to me, Iris…but that wasn't her name, was it? First Rose, now Iris…she was just using the names of flowers as cover names. But why? What was she hiding?

Then, I remembered something else. Without the influence of her spell, I could recall clearly and accurately the details of our meeting last night. Her eyes hadn't been violet, they had been red. Blood red. Her pale skin and makeup on her face…and then, something about her mouth…

It hit me. "Oh hell," I said.

"Back with us?"

I blinked and turned to Riku. "Yeah, I am. Thanks, Riku. Thanks a lot."

He grinned. "Just looking out for my friend."

I grabbed my phone. "Unfortunately, we've got bigger problems now," I said, hitting one of the buttons on my speed dial. After ringing once, Goofy picked up. "Sora?" he said, an uncertain tone to his voice.

"Goofy, hi," I said. "Look, I'm really sorry about last night, but I know what's going on. Are you with Donald right now?"

"Yeah, we're both at the office."

"Then come over to my place. Oh, and thanks for sending Riku."

"He was able to help?"

"Yep. See you in a bit." I hung up.

"What's going on?" asked Riku.

I turned to him. "Do you actually have a lull in your cases, or was that just something you said?"

"No, it's true, more or less. Why?"

"I may need your help."

"What with?"

"This case." I smiled wryly at him. "Get out your crosses and garlic, because we're dealing with a vampire."

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**And there we have it, folks: a vampire. But what has she done with Hayner, and what might she do to Sora? Tune in next time to find out!  
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**Also, to make up for my delay, I'm going to try to get another two chapters posted in the next two or three days (but no promises). I've already got a draft of the next chapter written, and part of the one after that.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed!  
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	7. The Vampire's Lair

**Hope you guys liked the last chapter, because here's the next one!**

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While we waited for Donald and Goofy to arrive, I filled Riku in on the case so far. By the time they arrived, I had gotten him up to speed, and, given his own deductive powers, I guessed we were thinking the same thing, as to what had happened to Hayner.

"Hey, guys," I said when Donald and Goofy arrived. "Look, before we start, I wanted to apologize in earnest for what I said last night. I wasn't myself, and I don't think you're worthless. I think you've proven yourselves to be some of the best partners I could ask for."

"Aw, thanks, Sora," said Goofy. "But we knew something was up with you last night. You don't need to feel bad about it."

"And I'm sorry for drinking," said Donald. "I shouldn't have done it; I was just tired by the day's work, and thought I'd get a quick drink, since I was in a bar and all. I carried it too far, and snapped at you."

"I can't say I blame you," I said. "I did work you pretty hard yesterday, and I was a jerk last night."

"Well, like Goofy said, it wasn't you."

I grinned. "Friends?"

"Of course."

Laughing, Goofy swept the two of us into a hug, and we soon found ourselves laughing, too, glad that our feud was behind us. "So, what have you found out?" asked Goofy.

I instantly changed my demeanor to serious. "It's not too good. Turns out this is a supernatural case, after all."

Goofy nodded. "Makes sense, what with what Iris did to you last night."

Donald sniffed. "Speaking of Iris, why are you wearing cologne?"

"For the exact reason that you'd think," I said. "I made plans to meet her today, at three, in Destiny Park, just like Hayner."

"Really? Why didn't you mention that before?" asked Goofy.

"She told me not to tell anyone. Wanted to keep it a secret."

"But how was she able to do that?" asked Donald. "What was it exactly that she did to you?"

"She hypnotized me," I said. "She's a vampire."

Both Donald and Goofy started. "A vampire? You sure?" said Donald.

I nodded. "It all adds up. Her eyes were blood red, her skin was pale, and she had fangs. That's why she wore sunglasses, a scarf, and a lot of makeup. But, like I said, she hypnotized me, so I didn't notice."

Goofy nodded. "And that's probably what she did to Hayner, too." He glanced over at Riku. "Did Sora tell you everything?"

"He did," said Riku. "From what it sounds like, this is a very dangerous and cunning foe you've got here."

"What do you mean?" asked Donald.

I answered. "Before she took off her sunglasses and hypnotized me, she asked me if I had any eye troubles. I didn't think much of it, but she was trying to find out if I wore contacts."

"Ohhh," said Goofy, nodding. "Since her hypnosis wouldn't have worked without direct eye contact."

"Right," I said. "So she knows what she's doing. She's not stupid, not at all. She goes to bars and waits for likely victims, finds out if they've got contacts, then hypnotizes them and gets them to meet her the following day."

"But what does she do then?" asked Donald.

"She's a vampire, Donald. She needs blood to sustain herself."

"Oh." He made a face. "That's unpleasant."

"Says the man who enjoys reading about them. Oh, wait, I'm sorry, don't a few of them shun human blood and drink animal blood?"

"This isn't literature, Sora," he said irately. "This is real life, and real people are in danger here."

"Right. Of course. Sorry."

"Wait…" Goofy looked worried. "What about Hayner? If she's had him for this long, would he still be…" He was hesitant to say "alive."

"Let's hope so," I said. "It's possible, but not guaranteed. Vampires can drink varying amounts of blood per day, but if she's planned this much out, I don't think she'd want to empty her victims too quickly, or people might notice the string of missing people."

"They might notice them anyway," said Donald.

I sighed. "I know. I just don't like to think that Hayner might be dead."

"Neither do I," said Riku, "but it is a possibility. If he is, then the best thing that we can do is to bring this woman to justice, so that she doesn't get the chance to harm anyone else."

"Right," I said. I glanced at my clock. "Well, we've got a little over two hours before I have to go meet her. What are we gonna plan for her?"

* * *

And so, we spent the next two hours coming up with ideas for how to catch this vampire. As we needed to catch her in the act, I volunteered to go along with her, and pretend I was still hypnotized. The problem with that, though, was preventing further hypnotization. "Even if I'm on my guard, she could still get me," I said.

"What about contacts?" suggested Donald.

"I don't have any."

"Then get some."

"It's not that easy. You need—"

Riku interrupted. "Actually, it's fairly easy to get a pair of colored contacts. You could get some that match your eyes closely, and they might do the trick. Though, you'll have to refresh my memory: do vampires have particularly heightened sight?"

"Some might," I said, referring to the "Supernatural Beings of the Natural World" document that I had pulled up on my computer. "Yeah, slightly heightened senses in general. Depending on the vampire, some senses might be better than others. I'm hoping hers isn't that good, since she asked me if I had contacts in the nightclub, and didn't just look for herself."

"Hm…" said Riku. "Well, we may have to go with that."

And so, at 2:45, I paced around Destiny Park nervously, with blue contacts in my eyes. I was nervous because of our plan, but hoped that I could make it come across as nervousness about meeting "Iris" again. In order to pull this off, I would need to act like I was still hypnotized, which meant continuing a fascination with her. Given what I now knew about her, this would be difficult, but not impossible.

Also, duplicating what we did for the Clayton case, I carried my phone in my front pocket, which was in the middle of a call to Donald, transmitting everything that was going on. It also served as a tracking device, that the others could use to follow my position at all times. I had my gun strapped to my left ankle, and, in case she somehow managed to hypnotize me again, I had a piece of paper with the word "Kingdom" written on it in my pocket, so that if I put my hand in, I would feel it, take it out, and look at it. I had done everything we could think of, and I was as ready as I was going to be.

Finally, just a couple of minutes before three, I saw the familiar figure of "Iris" walking my way. Since the sun was out, she did not need her disguise—sunlight, while it did weaken vampires, also hid their vampire physical characteristics, so she would look rather normal in the sun.

As soon as I saw her, it was time to act. _Right,_ I thought, _what would hypnotized Sora do?_

Putting on a face of eagerness, I ran up to her, smiling nervously. "Hey!" I said.

She smiled at me, and, even through my contacts, I felt her hypnotic powers working their charms. "Hi," she said sweetly, though now that I was not hypnotized, I could detect the fakery in her voice.

"Good to see you again."

"You, too."

Okay, so far so good; she hadn't caught on. "Ready to go on our secret adventure?" I said, hoping that would sound in character.

Apparently, it did. "I am," she said. "You didn't tell anyone, right?"

I shook my head, almost bouncing with fake anticipation. "Nope. No one."

She smiled broadly. "Good."

_Good indeed,_ I thought. _Now you think you can make me disappear, and no one will have any idea where I went._

"So, do you know where Hayner is?" I asked.

"I may have an idea," she said. "Here, let's try to recreate the scene."

"Okay. So, what happened?"

"Well, we met in the park, we chatted briefly, and I invited him back to my place."

"So, should we go to your place now, then?" I was trying to be submissive; I was supposed to go along with whatever she said.

"Sure, let's do that."

"Okay," I said readily.

She smiled at me again, sending another wave of hypnosis my way, and walked off. I followed her, knowing that Riku, Donald and Goofy would be following my position through the cell phone. We had also agreed that I would, from time to time, try to work the word "kingdom" into my speech, so they would know I wasn't hypnotized.

She led me to the street and hailed a taxi. One pulled over, and she got in, motioned for me to do the same, and gave the driver an address. I hoped the others had caught that; if that was, in fact, where she lived, then it was incredibly valuable information. They could even go there themselves, without having to track me.

I had some questions I wanted to ask her, but I kept silent, knowing that if I took too much initiative with the conversation, she might get suspicious. So I sat facing forward, but kept looking over at her, as if I still had a fascination with her.

A few minutes later, the driver dropped us off in front of an apartment building. The area looked a little more run-down than the rest of the city, and I knew from its geography that we were near an area with a lot of abandoned buildings. Perfect place for a vampire to live. We got out, and she paid the driver. "You live here?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. I didn't want to tell the driver the exact address." She smiled. "This is our secret adventure, remember?"

"Yeah," I said eagerly, concealing my disappointment. So we didn't know where she lived, after all. Well, that was fine; we would soon enough.

She led me down an alley, right towards the area with all the abandoned buildings, prompting a slew of thoughts in my mind. Did she live here? Maybe she didn't actually live in a house or apartment, but took refuge inside one of these places. That would make sense; Lea had said there was no record of anyone with her description in the area, but if she lived in an unlisted location, there wouldn't be.

We drew near an abandoned warehouse. "This is it," said "Iris." "What do you think? It's a nice little place, isn't it?"

"It's great," I said, knowing that her hypnosis would make me see something different. "It's like I've just stepped into a royal kingdom." The comparison was shaky, but at least Riku, Donald and Goofy would know I was still myself.

"Why, thank you, Sora," said the vampire. "Come, let's go inside."

I followed her in. The place was dark, dank, and generally unpleasant—but of course, I couldn't show that I thought that. I looked around appreciatively, as if admiring the décor, all the while taking in the details. A few windows let some sunlight in, in the corners of the room. "You like it?" said "Iris."

"Yeah, of course!"

"Good. So, did you want to know where Hayner went?"

"Oh…oh yeah!" I said, as if distracted.

She smiled. "Well, I brought him here, then led him down to my basement. We had a good time down there."

"Really? What's in your basement?"

"Well, I'll show you."

We had to be getting close now. I followed her to a staircase, not obviously placed, to an underground portion of the warehouse. My heart increased its pace as we went along, and I felt myself begin to sweat. That wasn't good; it was physical evidence of my nervousness, and if the vampire got a close enough look, she might think something was up. I couldn't chalk it up to heat, since it was getting pretty chilly. The weight of my gun up against my ankle was reassuring, but I was still going into the belly of the beast.

We reached the bottom of the staircase, where a single door stood, looking quite foreboding. "Iris" opened it and went inside, and I followed. "What's down here?" I asked.

"You'll see."

Upon entering, it appeared to be an old storage room; there was a lot of open space, and some old shelves and boxes were stacked up against the right wall. And there appeared to be some at the far end of the room, too…

I stopped dead in my tracks, forgetting my act. There were what appeared to be three tall wooden boxes propped up against the far wall. But they were open, and their contents were available for anyone to see, though I would have preferred they gone unseen.

Three bodies. Three men, from what I could tell, all asleep, and all pale. I felt my face go white, as well. These must be her victims. Was Hayner one of them? Were any of them still alive?

She saw me looking at them. "Those are nothing to worry about," she said. "Look at me; they are nothing to worry about."

I blinked, and remembered that I was still supposed to be hypnotized. "Right, nothing to worry about," I repeated. I noticed that, since we were now out of the sunlight, she had reverted to her natural pale, red-eyed, fanged form.

"They're just people that I keep down here."

"Uh-huh."

"In fact…" She made her way over to one of the boxes, and I followed. "I need to get rid of one of them, and I'll need someone to take his place." She turned to me. "How would you like to?"

"S-sure."

She smiled. "Excellent," she said softly. She went to the rightmost coffin and pulled the body out. "Now," she said, turning back to me, "just get in there and go to sleep. A nice, relaxing sleep. In fact, you don't ever have to wake up."

I felt myself getting drowsy; she must really be using the full extent of her hypnotic powers. Well, then. It was time to end this before they became too much for me, and I ended up like one of the men in front of me.

As if in a trance, I moved towards the box, and right as I passed by her, I made my move. Swinging myself around, I brought my fist up to her face, where it collided satisfactorily. "Get in here, guys," I said loudly. "Time for her kingdom to fall." Dropping to my ankle, I used my left arm to raise my pant leg, and my right arm to grab the gun and point it at the vampire. "Game's up," I said.

She looked bewildered and furious at the same time. "What? How did you…"

"I have my methods," I said coolly. "And don't try anything with me. I know exactly what you are and what you are capable of. And I've dealt with your kind before." I pointed my gun at her head. "And while you can sustain injuries much better than we humans, I've discovered that blowing one's brains out works for all species. So, let's not let this get out of hand. How much—"

But she was not willing to stand by in defeat. She hissed at me, opening her mouth widely and baring her fangs. It was a little unsettling, and I flinched slightly. Seeing that my concentration had been broken, she made her move, and dashed for the open door. "Hey!" I yelled, and fired several rounds. I saw one of them hit her in the back, and she stumbled, but did not stop. Determined not to let her go, I gave chase, running through the door and up the staircase after her. I emerged just in time to see her leap through one of the windows. "Son of a bitch," I muttered; due to her supernatural resistances, she could handle that much better than I could.

"Sora!"

I turned to see Riku, Donald and Goofy running at me. "Was that her?" asked Riku.

"No, it was Mario."

"Not the time for sarcasm, Sora. She's getting away."

"Think I don't know that?" I glanced at the window and scowled. "Ah, hell. I can't let her get away." To the others, I said, "Check downstairs. She's got a few bodies down there; I don't know if any of them are still alive."

With that, I ran at the window and leapt through. I didn't have to break much glass, but still cut my shirt on a jagged shard, and landed painfully on a hard ground littered with glass bits. Getting to my feet, I looked around, and saw my quarry running into the alley we had come through. I sprinted after her, trying to get a good shot, but to no avail. She got to the end of the alley much quicker than I had, and dashed around the corner. By the time I caught up, she was nowhere to be seen. I looked around frantically, but there was any amount of directions she could have gone in, and not enough passersby to have seen her.

"Sora!" I turned to see Riku run up to me. "Where'd she go?"

My shoulders slumped. "I'm not sure."

He did a quick scan of the area, but did not see anything, either. "Damn," he said. "Now she'll be on the alert."

I scowled. "Yeah. We might not be able to catch her."

"We'll go to the police. We'll have to, anyway."

"Probably. Did you find out the status of any of her victims?"

He shook his head. "I came after you. Donald and Goofy went to check on them."

I bit my lip. "Well, let's get back and hope for the best."

We made our way back to the warehouse, and found Goofy just getting off the phone. "What's up?" I asked.

He sighed. "Well, two of them are dead; they've lost too much blood."

I had suspected as much. "What about the third?"

"He's alive, but he's lost a good deal of blood. I just called the hospital."

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least we had managed to save one person.

"Was he the person you're looking for?" asked Riku.

"I think he might be," said Goofy. "He looks like he'd be in college."

I perked up. "You mean we might have saved Hayner?"

"I hope so," said Goofy.

I got out my cell phone. "Then let's find out." I went down to the basement as I called Pence. After a couple of rings, he answered. "Hello?"

"Pence? This is Sora Parker."

"M-mister Parker! W-what is it?"

I got to the basement and went over to the three bodies. "Do you think you could give me a detailed description of what Hayner looks like?" Donald was there, and I covered the phone and asked, "Which one is still alive?"

He pointed to the leftmost body. I looked at it; the sleeping man did look rather young.

"Well," said Pence, and I returned to listening, "he has dirty blond hair that sticks up. He usually combs it back."

"Uh-huh." Well, the guy's hair looked uncombed, but, then again, he had been stuck in a box for the past several days.

"He's about five foot eight, kinda thin, but with some muscles on his arms."

I peered at the sleeping figure in front of me. He matched the description nearly perfectly. "Do you remember what he was wearing the day he disappeared?"

"Yeah. Uh, a black shirt, a green vest and camo baggy pants."

That was enough for me. "Pence, I've found him."

There was a pause. "Wh-what?"

"Your description matches a person we've discovered. I can't be absolutely certain without a positive identification, but I think it may be him."

"Y-you've found him? Is he…"

"If he is the person I think he is, he's alive. He's unconscious, though, and he's lost a good deal of blood. We've called the hospital, and they're on their way." I smiled. "He'll probably have to spend some time there, but I think he's gonna make it."

Another pause followed. Then Pence spoke again, sounding weak. "Th-thank you, Mr. Parker. I-I was afraid I wouldn't see him again."

"Well, you can stop worrying now. Do you want to come see him at the hospital?"

"S-sure."

"Great. We called Twilight Hospital; you know where that is?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. We'll see you there, then."

"Yeah. Thank you, thank you so much."

"You're welcome. I'm glad we were able to find him."

As I hung up, Riku came downstairs. "Goofy's waiting up there for them," he said. "Meanwhile, we need to get our story straight."

"You mean, what we're gonna tell everyone?"

"Precisely. We can't say that a vampire captured these three and drank their blood."

"But they've still clearly lost blood, and they have puncture wounds on their necks," said Donald. "So whatever story we come up with will have to go along with that."

"Could we just say that she was draining their blood to sell on the black market?" I suggested.

"We could," said Riku. "But what about the puncture wounds?"

"That's where she stuck the needles."

Riku frowned and stepped forward to take a closer look at the bodies. "Those wounds look a bit big for needles."

"Maybe she used something else. We'll say she took her equipment with her."

"Just like that? We have to make sure that this is a credible story."

"Yes, but we can't take too much time, either."

Eventually, we managed to decide that we had not actually laid eyes on her blood extraction tools, and that when she had fled, she had taken them with her. Where was the blood? Well, she must have sold all she had right beforehand. Before we could continue to come up with a fabricated story, however, Goofy called down, "They're here!"

"We'll have to finish this later," said Riku. "Anyways, I doubt the EMTs will interrogate us on the details."

"No, that'll be Leon's job." I mentioned the chief of police.

He nodded grimly. "Right."

A few seconds later, a pair of men, wearing black outfits, descended the stairs carrying a stretcher. "Where is he?" asked one of them, all business. I pointed, and they brought the stretcher over and lifted Hayner onto it. Just then, Hayner stirred, very slightly, and a small sound escaped from his mouth. I perked up; it seemed as though Hayner was coming out the hypnosis-induced trance. _I must have weakened the vampire when I shot her and drove her away,_ I thought. _That's why her hypnosis is wearing off._

"Jesus, what happened to him?" asked the second paramedic.

"He's lost a lot of blood," I said. "It was taken from him by what we suspect to be someone collecting and selling blood illegally."

"Christ," said the man. "Well, let's get this guy out of here."

He and his partner lifted the stretcher and, as quickly as they could, carried Hayner out and to a waiting ambulance. I went with them, while the other three agreed to meet up with us later, at the hospital. "How do you think it looks?" I asked as the ambulance raced along, siren blaring.

The second paramedic shrugged. "I've seen worse," he said. "If we get him a blood transfusion quickly enough, he'll probably pull through."

That was a relief. But we weren't quite out of the woods yet. Hayner's condition could worsen, for one. And we would have to find some way of covering up the supernatural element of the case, both for the authorities and for people like Pence and Hayner (depending on what the latter remembered).

But the thing that worried me the most was neither of those. It was that the mysterious vampire had gotten away, and that meant one of two things. One, she would move to a different area and begin luring more people to their doom. Or two, she would put those plans on hold for a little while while she undertook a different task: revenge.

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**So, Sora has defeated the mysterious vampire...but I don't think that's the last we've seen of her...  
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**How are you liking the story? Don't hesitate to tell me!  
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	8. The Vampire Strikes Back

**Whew! Hey, guys, sorry for the slight delay. Junior year of college is busy...**

**So, here's Chapter Eight. (Anyone notice the Star Wars reference?)  
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Five hours later, after seeing Hayner to the hospital, meeting Riku and Donald and Goofy there, finalizing our story with them, meeting a sick-with-relief Pence and fending off his constant slew of thank-yous, meeting with Chief of Police Squall "Leon" Leonhart and relating my altered version of events (along with Riku, Donald, and Goofy), being assured that he would put out an APB on the mysterious red-haired woman, getting a call from Hayner's parents offering me many profuse thanks for finding their son, and going out to dinner with the other three, I returned to my apartment, weary after the day's events.

"Tough day, Sora?"

I glanced up to see the friendly face of Roxas White, the evening doorman, whom I had met a few times and with whom I was on friendly terms. "Hey, Roxas," I replied with a smile. "Yeah, it's been pretty busy."

"Did you get a lot done, at least?"

My smile widened. "Yes. Yes, I did."

"Good to hear," he replied. "Well, I won't keep you. Get some rest."

"Thanks. See you later."

"You, too."

I headed in, took the elevator up to my floor, and went straight to my apartment. I stayed wary, however; the possibility of the vampire returning had not left my mind, and I didn't want to be caught off-guard. But I was still wearing my contacts, so at least she couldn't hypnotize me again.

I opened the door to my apartment and stepped in. I was alert, but my instincts (honed and reliable after several years of hunting supernatural beings) did not tell me there was anyone in my place. Still, I checked each room before finally sinking onto my couch to relax. I pulled out my phone to text the others and let them know that I had gotten back safely; we had all agreed that it was possible the vampire would come after any one of us (though most likely me, since she knew my name and face and since I was the one who had defeated her), and so we had decided to check in at regular intervals. I sent the text, then picked up the remote and did some channel-surfing, looking for a satisfactory program to watch while I relaxed. Eventually, I found a channel that was airing _The Exorcist_, and set the remote down and watched. I liked a good deal of horror movies—they certainly resonated a lot with what I did. (I had never been called to exorcise a demon, like Father Karras, but it was a possibility.)

In actuality, several popular horror stories have a basis in fact. One of the most iconic, Bram Stoker's _Dracula_, is in fact based on actual recounts of encounters with a vampire much like Count Dracula (though with some features added in and some features taken out). The vampire in question, whose identity remains unknown, was one of the first known instances of another creature, one with many names, but most commonly referred to as a vampiraga, or perfect vampire. Possessing unnatural speed and strength, heightened senses, and extraordinary regenerative powers, among several other abilities, a vampiraga was one of the most feared and dangerous creatures out there. Easily able to overpower a human, facing one without proper equipment and preparation was fatal. And there weren't many things you could do against one. Take decapitation, for instance. For a regular vampire, cutting its head off would kill it almost instantly. A perfect vampire, however, would be incapacitated, but would still be very much alive, and could even grow its head back after a short amount of time. Stabbing it in the heart, again fatal to regular vampires, would only be a nuisance to a vampiraga—unless the weapon was made of the right material. A stake made of oak wood, for instance, would have a greater effect than most other stakes. The best material to use, however, was silver. Vampires in general had a weakness to silver: touching it was painful, and being injured by a silver weapon was excruciating. Perfect vampires followed this rule; stabbing one in the heart with a silver instrument would cause it immense pain, greatly incapacitating it for several minutes (especially if the weapon was left in; this would almost permanently cripple it). The only way to actually kill a vampiraga, though, was to burn it. Burning it and its bones would destroy it forever, and was the only known way to do so.

I had never seen a vampiraga, and neither intended nor expected to; they were exceedingly uncommon (thankfully). I was dealing with a vampire at the moment, but I knew she was not a vampiraga, otherwise she would have killed me when I ruined her plan, and contacts would not have protected me from her hypnosis.

I watched the movie through its end, and then, tired in both body and mind, I dragged myself to my bedroom and went to bed.

But then, it happened again. I did manage to sleep soundly for a while, but eventually, I found myself in the same place I had been many times before: the dungeon. Across from me, the figure stood, and I felt panic rise up again. Whoever it was, they were deadly.

But this time, something different happened. As the figure turned, it raised its arms up to its head and grasped the hood. I tensed; was the identity of this person about to be revealed?

I think I might have guessed who it was right before I saw. But it became certain when the hood came down, and the red hair became visible.

My eyes widened. "You!"

* * *

I sat bolt upright, breathing heavily. _She_ was the figure from my nightmares? Had my dream predicted my encounter with her? Was she destined to have some sort of major role in my life? What did this mean?

My thoughts were flying wildly, but then I thought, _Hold on. There's nothing that you've seen that suggests prophetic dreams. This all has a perfectly natural explanation._

I began to calm down as I came up with my explanation. _I had never seen who the figure actually was before today. Before that, it was just a faceless manifestation of my fears. Now, I can put a face to it, since I'm worried about her coming after me._

I felt myself relax. That made sense…yes, it was a good explanation. It was nothing other than the manifestation of my subconscious feelings; wasn't that what dreams were, after all?

Still, it was hard to get back to sleep.

* * *

The next day started off easy. I slept in, despite myself; I had had a tough week. Besides, it was a Sunday, when our office was closed, and so I didn't have much to do. I ended up rising around nine-thirty, and took my time getting ready for the day. After checking my phone, to make sure the others were okay and there were no messages regarding work I needed to do, I rang up Twilight Hospital to find out how Hayner was doing, and learned that he was in stable condition, expecting a blood transfusion soon. Satisfied, I hung up and went to my bookshelf and browsed my collection, intending to just do some reading. (The other three, from the vampire case, were occupied that day: Donald was spending it with Daisy, Goofy was visiting family, and Riku had said that he had some work he needed to take care of.) After selecting a novel and spending a few hours reading, I ate lunch, and after that, did some Internet surfing, and after that, cleaned my apartment.

I did say that the day started easy, didn't I? Well, that quickly changed.

It was about a quarter after five, when I had just started thinking about dinner, when my phone rang. Noticing that it was Lea, I picked it up. "Hey, Lea."

"Sora."

He sounded like something was wrong, so I sat down and adopted a serious demeanor. "What's up? Is there a problem?"

"Possibly," he said. "Try not to get too freaked out, but that woman you told us about yesterday? She was spotted just a few minutes ago, right outside Donald's place."

I froze. "What?"

"We sent over a team as soon as we heard."

"Is Donald okay?" I asked urgently. If anything had happened to him…

"I called him just a minute ago, and he sounded fine. Don't worry, Sora—I highly doubt she would be stupid enough to capture Donald, when everyone's on the alert for her."

Lea's assurance wasn't very effective; he didn't know what this woman was. "I'm going over," I said, getting up.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea; we're trying to keep the area as secure as possible."

"Lea, he's one of my best friends. I'm not going to stay put while he's in danger like this."

Lea sighed. "Ugh, you have to be so stubborn, don't you? Fine, but don't get in the way."

"I'll find out how my friend is doing first. Then, I'll worry about getting in your way."

I hung up, and immediately grabbed my things. I debated over whether or not to take my gun, and eventually decided on it; if that vampire showed up and wanted to harm me or my friends, I would be prepared to retaliate.

* * *

Donald lived in a small house in Queens, which was a short distance from my apartment, but it felt like hours before the taxi driver finally pulled up and I got out. Police cars were already stationed there, and various officers milled about. "Lea!" I called, seeing my friend's spiky red hair.

He turned to me as I approached. "Sora. You got here quickly."

"Where's Donald?"

"Inside."

Another police officer, this one with long blue hair, walked up. "This is an official police investigation," he said to me. "I'm going to have to ask you to stand back."

"That's my friend in there," I snapped, pointing.

"Geez, chill out, Sora," said Lea. "Donald's fine, and so is Daisy."

I blinked before remembering that Donald had scheduled the whole day with his girlfriend. "Still, I'd like to talk to him."

"You can wait," said the blue-haired officer.

I glared at him. "Would you be able to wait if that was _your_ friend in there?"

The officer opened his mouth to continue arguing, but Lea cut it off. "Forget it, Isa," he said. "It's not that big a deal, and it's not worth the trouble he's going to give you." He motioned to me. "All right, Sora, come on in."

The blue-haired officer, Isa, looked affronted, but let me pass. Without further ado, I ran inside, where a couple other policemen could be seen or heard going through the house. "Donald?" I called out.

"Sora?" came his voice from further in. I followed it and found him and Daisy (a woman in her late twenties with blonde hair and a very prim look) in the kitchen. "Sora! What are you doing here?"

"Lea called me, and I wanted to check in," I said. "How are you doing?"

"We're fine," Donald assured me. "We didn't even hear anything about it until Lea called and told us she was around."

"Who called it in, then?"

"One of the neighbors. He saw her looking around the house, remembered her description from a police report, and phoned it in."

"How's he doing?"

"Fine. There are a couple of officers over at his place, making sure that she hasn't hidden out there or anything."

I nodded, then glanced at Daisy. "How are you holding up, Daisy?"

She looked worried, but replied with a steady voice, "Well, the police are here now, so we're safe." She drew slightly closer to Donald as she said it.

"That's true," I said. "Do you mind if I speak to Donald for a moment?"

She frowned. "Why?"  
"I have some things I'd like to say to him."

"And you can't say them here?"

"I'd prefer to speak in private."

"What do you need to say?"

I shot a look at Donald, who intervened. "Don't worry, Daisy, it'll just be for a minute," he said reassuringly. "And we won't go far. We'll just be in the other room. We'll be right here."

Daisy still didn't seem ecstatic about the arrangement, but conceded. "Okay."

Donald leaned down and kissed her. "Just sit tight; I'll be right back."

She smiled at him. I felt a slight pang of jealously, but it dissipated quickly as Donald and I walked away. "What do you think this means?" he asked once we were out of Daisy's hearing range.

"I don't know," I said.

"Is she trying to get revenge on all of us?"

I frowned. "So soon? I'd think it would be in her favor to wait; we're on the alert, and she has literally all the time in the world."

"Maybe she's impatient."

I shrugged. "Could be." I moved on to a different point. "Well, if she's after us, then we have to protect ourselves. What have you got?"

"Daisy wears contacts, so she's safe from hypnosis," said Donald. "She's also got some silver jewelry that I can try to encourage her to wear."

I nodded. "Good. And yourself?"

"Well, I've got my wits and my gun."

"Anything else? Vampires have a few weaknesses."

He thought. "My porch is made of oak wood."

"That's hardly useful. Do you have silver? Light?"

"I could get some high-powered light bulbs."

"Do that. Then look up vampires in the Supernatural Guide, find some of their other weaknesses, and do what you can to exploit them."

"You should do the same; after this, she's more likely to come after one of you than me."

"Fine, but make sure you don't slack off. That might be what she wants you to do."

"Yeah. Right."

We returned to Daisy, and I called Goofy and Riku to let them know what the situation was. Both were still busy with their day's schedule, so they couldn't come over, but I assured them that Donald and I were both safe, and urged them to take any and all precautions they could.

* * *

About a half hour later, the police told us that their search had turned up nothing, but they would keep an eye out, and send an officer by Donald's house at random intervals. I offered to stick around and help Donald with his precautions, and he admitted that another person would be a comfort. "For Daisy," he quickly added. "I mean, I have nothing against you being here, but, you know, I'm pretty much over being shaken up." He drew himself up as he said this. "But I don't know if Daisy is."

So, I went out with him and Daisy to buy bright light bulbs for his house. When we got back, it was late enough for Donald to invite me for dinner, and since they both looked like they could use a guest, I accepted. Daisy made a very nice pasta dish, which, as I commented, was much better than anything I would have made myself at my own apartment. She smiled at the compliment, and the mood lightened after that, with Donald and I telling amusing stories to get everyone's mind off of the incident.

After dinner, I helped cleaned up, and, sensing that Daisy was ready to spend some time with just Donald, thanked them and took my leave. "Thank _you_, Sora, for thinking of us and coming over," said Donald.

"Any time," I said with a smile.

I left the house and, luckily, found a taxi almost right outside. I hailed it, gave the driver my address, and he drove off.

I thought about the vampire on the taxi ride back. Was she going after each of us now, or was this a part of something bigger? She could have been staking out Donald's house before attempting a break-in, but wouldn't she have taken more care than that to avoid detection?

With that, a new thought came to me. Maybe she had _allowed_ herself to be seen, in order to draw our attention to Donald and away from…what? Me? That was very probable; she would be more likely to want revenge against me than the others. Well, I wasn't about to be caught off-guard.

It was about then that I realized that the driver was going the wrong way. We were drawing near my apartment, but he was taking a route that would take us a lot longer. "Excuse me," I said, leaning forward, "are you sure this is the right way?"

"Yes," he said, in a rather flat voice, I noticed.

I frowned. Something didn't seem quite right…then again, maybe I was just being paranoid. But when the driver pulled into an alleyway, I knew that something was going on. "Excuse me, I'm not sure—"

But the driver gave the car a sharp turn to the left, setting it almost perpendicular to the alleyway, and brought it to a halt. "Here's your stop, sir."

I sat there for a moment, not sure what to make of the situation. This was clearly not my apartment. We were only a block away, but no taxi driver would mistake an alleyway for an apartment building. "No, this is not my stop."

"This is your stop, sir," said the driver, more firmly.

I looked out the window, down the alley. Still not quite sure what to make of the situation, I opened the door and slowly stepped out. Turning around, I saw that the taxi had almost entirely blocked the alley, and it would be next to impossible to squeeze past it and get out. _What the hell?_ I thought. _What's up with the driver's behavior? And why did he bring me here?_

Suddenly, my instincts alerted me, and I turned around to see a figure emerge from behind a nearby dumpster. As I looked, everything from today clicked into place: the sighting and the subsequent absence of the vampire, the strange behavior of the taxi driver, and the location. This had all been a trap, desired to lure _me_ in. Donald had had nothing to do with it; he was merely used to get me out of my apartment. When I was ready to return, the conveniently-placed taxi would pick me up and take me here, where I would meet…her.

My hand fell to my gun, tucked into my jacket. "So, you didn't wait very long, I see," I said.

My adversary smiled, showing her fangs. "I can get impatient," she replied. "Besides, I thought you might have expected me to wait a while. We do have all the time in the world, after all. Quite literally."

Huh. That was almost identical to the expression I had used earlier. "I had considered that," I said. "But I also thought you might strike sooner."

"Didn't do you much good, did it?"

I gestured with one hand, while the other slid deeper into my jacket, and came to rest directly on my gun. "In my defense, this was a well-concocted plan. Not only did your being seen get me out, it shifted my focus to Donald, and on the ride home, I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to realize what was wrong until it was too late." I wrapped my hand around the grip of my weapon. "I have to say, you make good plans. It's a shame they all have to involve killing people."

She made a face. "Well, I'm a vampire. That's what I do, right?"

"Not anymore." With that, I whipped my gun out and pointed it at her, but she was ready, and ducked back behind the dumpster. "You're hiding?" I said. "Doesn't really help your goal, does it?"

However, a second later, another figure emerged from behind the dumpster. It was a middle-aged homeless man, in a heavy coat. "Gimme yer gun," he said, looking at me unfocusedly.

I gritted my teeth. "Really?" I called. "Hypnotizing other people to help you? That's the best you can do?"

Unfortunately, I didn't have much time for conversation, as the man began walking towards me, hands outstretched. "Give it to me," he repeated.

"Get out of here," I said loudly, but it had no effect, and he kept coming, getting faster and closing the distance between us rapidly. In seconds, he was right in front of me, and reached out for my gun. I pulled it out of his reach, and then, with right arm (the one holding the gun), shoved him to the side. But he was persistent; the hypnotization technique must have been particularly potent. Well, of course it was—I knew firsthand. He grabbed my arm, and I, knowing that the vampire would use this as her opportunity, forced myself to act, and kicked him in the crotch. I'm not proud of it, but it did get him to release me, and I pushed him back into the alley wall, where he sank down. The whole process only took a couple of seconds.

But it was enough. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the vampire rush out at me. I swung back to face her, but by the time I had, she had lunged, mouth open, and sank her teeth into my left arm.

I let out an involuntary cry. Now _that_ hurt. A lot. My grip on my gun became weak, and it slipped out of my hand and fell to the ground. Now weaponless, I staggered back, as the vampire began to suck my blood. Forcing my right hand into a fist, I swung it in an uppercut under my arm, at her neck. I made contact, and she made a gagging sound and her jaws loosened, so I tore my arm away. The wound was very unpleasant, and it looked to me as if my left arm might be unusable for the rest of the encounter.

My adversary grinned and me and licked her lips. "Not bad," she said. "Type B, is it?"

I crouched down to pick up my gun, but she leapt at me, faster than I would have thought, and I was forced to turn my full attention to her, instead. I jumped backwards, out of the way of her initial attack, then went on the offensive myself, throwing punches with my right arm while making sure not to get bitten. Unfortunately, what hits I did manage to land didn't seem to do much to her, even though vampires could be stunned or even knocked out by a sufficient amount of physical trauma. I suspected that the wound on my left arm wasn't doing wonders for my strength, and prevented me from hitting her with my full force.

I needed my gun. The problem was, any time I tried to retrieve it, she further pressed her attacks, making me unable to concentrate on anything but keeping myself alive. I tried feinting, but she was quick enough to react to my actual strikes. And they were getting slower. If I didn't finish things soon, I would end up being the one who got finished.

Finally, I made my desperate move. As she made another lunge with her mouth open, I shoved my left arm forward, since it was already damaged, anyway. She bit down, but before she could fully sink her teeth in, I grabbed her arm with my remaining one, then lashed out with my foot, sweeping it across and hitting her shins. At the same time, I shoved her arm away from me, and she lost her balance, stumbled for a moment, then fell, landing in a seated position. The second she went down, I darted back to my gun and snatched it up. Turning back to her, I saw her get up and run at me again, but this time, I was ready, and swung it at her, catching her on the side of the head and sending her to the ground a second time. Putting my finger on the trigger, I pointed the gun directly at her head. After this encounter, I couldn't let her live.

She looked up at me, registering the situation. At first, she seemed defiant, and I prepared to pull the trigger. But then, her body slumped, and I saw defeat in her eyes. "Yeah, go ahead," she said, in a low and shaky voice. "Shoot me. It's what you all do to us, isn't it? After all, we're just killing machines. We should have died a long time ago, but instead, we're stuck in this eternal state, never aging, always feeding. It's best like this, isn't it? Just end it."

I blinked. This wasn't what I had expected, and it complicated things. _No, it doesn't,_ a part of my mind argued. _She's only acting. You've seen her act before; she's pretty good at it. She only wants you to let your guard down so she can attack again._

Another part of my mind stepped in. _That doesn't seem like acting. She seems genuinely, well, despairing._

_Of course she does. That's acting._

_But this has a different feel to it than when she's done it before._

_You were hypnotized then. Of course it has a different feel._

_Not when she brought you to the warehouse, you weren't._

Another thought entered my head. _Why isn't she trying to hypnotize me now? I don't have my contacts in…oh, damn, I forgot the contacts._

_She probably thinks you're somehow immune, and isn't bothering,_ said the part of my mind that disbelieved the vampire.

_Or she really just doesn't care,_ countered the other part.

She looked up at me, as my thoughts continued to swirl around. "Well? Are you gonna do it or not?"

_She wants me to,_ I realized. _She actually wants me to shoot her. But why? Well, to release her from her eternal life. Does she actually regret her situation, and what she's done?_

I thought about my options. Then, I remembered Goofy's reaction every time we ended up killing someone. _Was_ there another way?

I made my decision. Reversing my gun in my hand, I brought it down hard, so that the butt struck the vampire between the eyes. As I had hoped, the impact made her eyes roll back, and then close as her head slumped to one side. After nudging her a couple of times to make sure she really was knocked out, I straightened up. This wouldn't be easy, but it was what I thought I should do, and I would do it.

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**So...what's this vampire's story? Was she being genuine, or just trying to trick Sora? And what is Sora planning to do with her? What are your thoughts/guesses/opinions? Let me know!  
**

**Also, I just noticed my story has got 666 views. That's awesome.  
**


	9. Another Way

**It's the weekend again! For all of you affected by the blizzard (like me), hope you have a good way to stay safe and keep yourselves entertained. Maybe you could read a story or something...**

**Well, without further ado, Chapter Nine.  
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Several minutes later, with my left arm wrapped in my undershirt and the unconscious vampire leaning on me, I made my way back to my apartment (leaving behind the disoriented homeless man and taxi driver), mercifully not too far away. I made sure to keep my arm tucked into my jacket, so as not to draw attention to the wound. As for the vampire, well, people would just think that she was a friend of mine, who had had too much to drink, or something.

That's not to say we didn't draw glances. People did double takes as we walked by, and Roxas eyed me strangely as I approached the apartment. "Is there a problem, Sora?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Friend here had a bit too much."

He raised an eyebrow. "On a Sunday?"

Oh, damn. Tomorrow _was_ a workday, wasn't it? "She doesn't work on Mondays," I said.

"Really? What's her job?"

I redirected the conversation. "Look, I'd really like to get her up to my apartment," I said. "Make sure she isn't in any danger, and all that."

"Do you want me to call someone?"

"No, I'm fine, really. I don't think it's _that_ serious, but a drunk friend is a drunk friend, right?"

"I suppose," he conceded. "Very well, Sora, but don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it."

Hah. That was a laugh. I had just very nearly been killed by a vampire, had ended up knocking her unconscious, and was now bringing her back to my apartment, for something that even I wasn't sure of. I needed help…but I wasn't likely to ask Roxas for it. "Right. Thanks."

"Anytime."

I dragged my captive into the building, and took her to the elevator, which, thankfully, was empty, to my floor and then to my apartment, eventually setting her down on my couch.

First, I acknowledged, I had to take care of my wound. A vampire bite was not too serious of an issue—contrary to popular belief, being bitten by a vampire did not make one also a vampire; that required actual transfusion of blood—but it was still a nasty wound. Fortunately, I had a large cache of medical supplies in my apartment, and I was able to treat and bandage the wound satisfactorily. I would need to take it easy for a few days, and my arm would not fully recover for a few weeks at least, but hopefully, it would not become infected, and would eventually heal (though it would leave a scar).

Second was the issue of the vampire. She was still unconscious, though she had been stirring slightly for the past few minutes. I needed a way to make sure that she wouldn't run away, or attack me while my guard was down. Several possibilities presented themselves to me, and I chose the ones that were easiest and would work the best. And so, ten minutes later, I sat on my couch, waiting for her to wake up. I had tied her hands behind her back and bound her ankles to a chair, so she couldn't move. As a couple more precautions, I had placed a silver bracelet on the apartment door handle (so she couldn't leave without touching it and hurting herself) and put on her one of my mother's necklaces: a special silver one covered with a layer of glass. It would make the vampire weaker, without actually hurting her.

My heart was racing—I had no idea what I was doing, or why exactly I was doing it. But I was doing it, and so I had no choice but to go ahead and hope for the best.

It took a while for the vampire to come to; I must have hit her harder than I thought. But, eventually, she groaned, and her eyelids slowly lifted. They lifted faster once she felt the rope around her wrists and ankles, and the silver on her neck. "Good, you're awake," I said, and her head snapped up to me.

"You!" she said. "What…where am I? What's going on?"

"You're in my apartment," I answered. "I knocked you out and brought you back here."

She blinked several times, and frowned, as if struggling to comprehend the situation. "What? Why? I thought you were going to shoot me."

"I thought so, too," I said. "But…"

I paused. I couldn't exactly put my reasoning into words. "You made me curious about you," I finally settled on.

"So you kidnapped me."

"Would you have preferred I pulled the trigger?"

She didn't answer. "You've certainly set me up well."

My eyes narrowed. "Don't think I've forgotten what you've done."

She pulled against her bonds, testing them. "You've got me tied up tight. What if I need to use the bathroom?"

I snorted. "Don't try to fool me. I know that that's a rare occurrence for your kind."

She lifted her eyebrows. "'My kind?' Well, you certainly know a lot about 'my kind,' Sora. Tell me, how did you get so knowledgeable?"

"Oh, I've been doing this for years. But if you think I'm going to give you a lot of information about myself, then you're sadly mistaken."

"Really?" She looked at me. "I could hypnotize you again."

I felt the effect of her eyes, and quickly looked away. _No, no, not falling for that again,_ I thought. _Remember my word. Kingdom. Kingdom, kingdom._ "That's not going to happen," I said to her chin.

"We'll see about that."

"Yes, we will."

I saw her eyes drop down to her collarbone. "What's this necklace? It feels silver, but it doesn't hurt."

"It's one of my mother's necklaces," I said. "She loved silver, but she was allergic to it, so she couldn't wear any silver jewelry without getting a rash. So my father had this specially made for her. It looks silver, and it is, but there's a thin glass covering over it. So it'll weaken you without actually hurting you."

"I didn't know you cared."

I shrugged. "It seemed cruel to put an actual silver necklace on you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Cruel? When did you become so self-righteous?"

I scowled. "At least I have an ethical compass. Oh, one more thing about that necklace." I looked directly into her eyes for this—risky, but I wanted to get the point across. "That's a very special item to me, so if you do anything to it, I will forget all about being nice to you."

She snorted. "This is nice?"

"I spared your life, didn't I?"

"And you're being so hospitable right now."

I ran a hand across my face. "I'm not in the mood to deal with this…Well, if you're just going to be like this, then I'll just see you tomorrow." I stood up.

"You're not worried about me escaping?"

"I have you tied up, and restricted with a silver necklace. Then there's an actual, pure silver bracelet on my door handle, so even if you managed to escape your bonds, you wouldn't be able to get out."

"I could yell for help."

I nodded. "Right. Call attention to yourself, when the police have put an APB on you."

"I could still take you down with me."

"I'll claim that you forced your way into my apartment and fabricated evidence." I smiled. "I have a good friend who's a police officer and a good friend who's a high-profile investigator, so my credibility is pretty high up there."

She paused. "I could just come right after you."

I hesitated. "I'll take precautions."

"Oh? What kind?"

"The kind that I don't tell you about. Now good night."

With that, I turned and left the room, walking down to my bedroom. Mentally, I wasn't tired, but my body was telling me that it needed rest, and I thought I should give the vampire time to settle in her new situation.

After brushing my teeth and returning to my room for the final time, I shut the door, locked it, then moved my dresser in front of it, so that if she tried to open it, either the weight of the dresser would stop her, or the dresser would fall over and alert me. My gun I placed directly beside me, on my bedside table. With all that done, I laid myself down and tried to get to sleep. It didn't work, though. I kept thinking about the vampire, and what I was going to do with her. What was it I wanted? To find out if she still had some shred of humanity left in her? It was possible; there were accounts of people who had befriended vampires, but these were rare. Most vampires had been bloodthirsty creatures in conflict with humans, and had to be killed, or somehow stopped.

I turned over in my bed. So why did I think this one would be different? Something about her…well, I wasn't quite sure what. But I would find out. I was an investigator, wasn't I? I would find out all that I could about this vampire…and determine whether she had been worth sparing.

* * *

Didn't get much sleep that night; even with my precautions, I felt very uneasy with a vampire in the apartment. But nothing happened—when I checked on her the following morning, she hadn't moved a bit, though the sunlight streaming through the windows made her look more human than she had last night, and made her black clothes look lighter. "Sleep well?" she asked, smiling smugly.

"I've had worse nights," I replied, and went off to shower. After I did, I made sure to put my contacts in, so I wouldn't have to worry about hypnotization. "How was _your_ night?" I asked when I came back, cleaned, dressed, and with the bandages on my left arm changed.

She made a face. "Boring and uncomfortable."

"Tough."

She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were supposed to be nice to me."

"'Nice' is relative," I responded. "I am willing to let you watch TV while I'm gone for the day."

"You're leaving me alone again?"

"Like I said, I'm not worried about you escaping. Besides, I have work to do."

She narrowed her eyes. "If you're just going to keep leaving me here, what was the point of kidnapping me in the first place?"

"Oh, we'll get around to talking," I said. "But that will have to come later." I grinned. "Something to look forward to."

"Can't wait." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

It was my turn to narrow my eyes. "When did you become such a smartass?"

"Well, it was after this guy kidnapped me, for purposes that he hasn't yet divulged. And he keeps leaving me alone for some reason. It's as if I make him uneasy."

"You? Make someone uneasy? I can't imagine a murderous vampire doing that."

As I made my comment, I saw a flash of pain in her eyes. "Sorry," I said.

She looked up. "For what?"

"I thought I…never mind."

I went off to prepare breakfast. As I did, I heard the vampire call out to me, "You know, I'm going to need sustenance. Got any enemies you want to disappear?"

She was taunting me, I could tell. "You'll survive while I'm gone," I called back. "And don't worry, I'm not going to let you starve."

"Oh, goody. I'll be able to see whatever it is you have planned for me."

"You most certainly will."

After eating, I grabbed my things and got ready to leave. "Hey, didn't you say something about letting me watch TV?" she called.

Oh, yeah. "Right." I returned to the living room, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV. "What do you want?"

She shrugged. "What's on?"

"Dunno. Here." I walked around behind her and put the remote in her hands. "You can change the channels if you like."

"Which one's the channel button?"

"This one."

I moved the remote so that the button was right below her thumb. As I did, my fingers brushed against her hand, and she flinched. I frowned. Why was she so averse to my touch?

Well, I could think of several reasons. And if I was lucky, I would get to find out some of them later.

"There you go," I said, straightening up. "I'll be back this afternoon."

"Okay, honey."

_Again with the relentless sarcasm…_ "Have fun, dear," I said, playing along.

She scowled; I guess she could only take the thought of us being together for so long, in this case, one remark. "And remember," I said, walking to the door, "don't try anything."

"Don't you have work to go to?"

"Yes." And I left.

* * *

A new problem presented itself as I went to work; what was I going to tell Donald and Goofy? On the one hand, they might want me to turn her in, and something told me that wasn't the best thing to do. On the other hand, knowing that she was tied up in my apartment could make them feel safer, knowing that she wasn't still out there, after them. And they could help me if I had problems. Besides, they were my friends, and I shouldn't keep secrets from them.

I took a breath. Very well, then, I would tell them. I just hoped they wouldn't react too poorly.

I got to the office a little after eight, and found both my partners already there. "Sora! Good to see you, at last!" said Donald as I came in.

Great. Another smartass. "Sorry," I said, yawning.

"No worries," Goofy assured me. "Rough night?"

I nodded. "Yeah." An amusing thought presented itself to me. "I was kept up pretty late."

"What with?" asked Goofy, looking concerned.

I grinned. "Well, actually, it was a woman."

Donald nearly fell out of his chair. "_What?_" he said incredulously. "Wait…Sora, are you saying you've…"

At the sight of his expression, I burst out laughing. "No," I said when I had recovered. "No, not like that. I just wanted to see what your reaction would be."

He glowered at me. "Damn it, Sora, don't do that again."

"What woman, then?" asked Goofy. "Was it the vampire?"

"Oh, of course," said Donald. "Worried about her?"

"Yeah," I said hesitantly. "But…" I sighed and sat down at my desk.

"But what?" asked Goofy. He noticed my arm. "What happened to your arm? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But…" I looked at the pair of them. "Okay, guys, I'm about to tell you something big, and I need you to promise me not to freak out, okay?"

"Sure," said Goofy.

"Something big?" said Donald.

I nodded. "I don't think we have to worry about her coming after us for the time being."

"Why not?" asked Goofy.

I took a deep breath. "Because she's tied up in my apartment."

Stunned silence met this confession. "She's…what?" said Donald.

"I kidnapped her and brought her to my apartment."

Another pause. "You're serious," said Donald.

"Dead serious."

"Why? Wh…" He ran a hand through his hair. "Sora, that doesn't make sense. Why would you kidnap her? What happened?"

So, I told them the story, of how, after leaving Donald's, I had been picked up by the hypnotized taxi driver, who had brought me to the alleyway where she had met me. I told them how we had fought, how she had wounded me but how I had managed to defeat her, and got her at gunpoint. "But you didn't shoot her?" said Goofy.

"No," I said. "Right when I was about to, she told me to do it, to go ahead and shoot her, like she wanted me to. She said…" I thought back to the previous night. "She seemed to imply that she wanted to die, that she thought it was right. She called vampires 'killing machines,' that should have died a long time ago, but were…I think stuck in eternal life. And I guess it really got to me. I felt…pity, I guess, and I wanted to know more about her. So I knocked her out and took her back to my apartment."

Donald looked skeptical. "You sure you're feeling okay, Sora? Your kingdom still standing?"

"Yes, my kingdom still stands tall," I responded. "She didn't hypnotize me."

Goofy looked interested. "So, what are you going to do with her?"

"Well…I haven't figured that out entirely just yet. But something told me that this was the right thing to do."

"You're sure she hasn't influenced you at all?" said Donald. "Or that there are some remnants of her hypnotizing you earlier?"

I frowned. "Well, I can't say that for certain—is there any way of knowing for sure? But my instinct tells me to keep her, and I've learned to trust my instinct."

"I think he's right," said Goofy, looking at Donald. "Maybe we should give this a shot. See where it leads."

"But this isn't just some harmless experiment," argued Donald. "This is a deadly vampire we're talking about. What if she gets free?"

"How would she be able to?" I asked. "I've tied her up tightly, and given her a silver necklace to weaken her."

"A silver necklace?" said Goofy. "Wouldn't that hurt her?"

I shook my head. "It's my mom's glass-covered silver necklace." I had shown it to both of them on a previous occasion. "The silver essence still weakens her, but touch alone isn't enough to cause her much pain."

Donald cocked his head to one side. "You've thought this out, haven't you?"

"Not a whole lot, actually. It's just what came to me after I took her back to my apartment."

"So you tied her up," said Goofy. "What then? Is she still unconscious?"

I shook my head, and told them of the two conversations we had had in my apartment. "Seems like a delightful soul," said Donald after I had finished.

"Remind you of anyone?" I asked, looking pointedly at him.

"Hey, I'm not that bad."

"You come close sometimes."

Ever the peacemaker, Goofy interrupted our argument. "So, you're not sure what to do with her now?"

I sighed. "Not really. I guess I want to find out more about her. She's…intriguing, somehow."

"Not to mention murderous," said Donald.

His comment brought back the memory of how the vampire had reacted earlier that morning, when I had used the same word to describe her. "Is it possible she's remorseful about those?" I asked. "I thought, this morning, when I made a similar comment, that it hurt her."

"You mean, hurt her feelings?" asked Goofy. "That's kinda sad."

"Forgive me if I'm not overflowing with sympathy," said Donald dryly.

"Well," I said, "we'll just have to see how things play out. Now, Pence is coming over today, right?"

I could tell the other two were still interested in the matter of the vampire, but we had business to take care of, and they were forced to let it drop for the moment. "Yeah, at eleven," said Donald.

"Then we'd better get ready what we're going to say to him."

Goofy sighed. "Sometimes I don't like lying to our clients."

"I never like it," I said. "Unfortunately, it's a necessary evil."

* * *

Pence arrived a few minutes before eleven. "Good morning, Pence," I said when he entered, keeping my wounded arm concealed, so as to not draw attention to it.

He smiled broadly. "Good morning, Mr. Parker." He took a seat, still smiling, seemingly lost for words.

"How's Hayner holding up?" I asked.

"Great! He's received a blood transfusion, and he'll be in the hospital for a little while longer, but he's awake and reverting to his old self."

I smiled. "Great to hear."

"All thanks to you. Mr. Parker, I still can't thank you enough."

"Well, like I said, I'm glad I was able to save him."

He nodded. "A lot of his friends are really happy, too. In fact…" He reached into his pocket and withdrew a sheet of paper that looked like a check. "Hayner's pretty popular, so yesterday, we decided to take a collection, as a bonus for you. I felt you deserved more than the paltry sum I was going to pay."

I blinked. "Oh, I hope you didn't feel like you had to—"

"No, no, I did," argued Pence. "You probably don't take a whole lot of cases, and mine only gave you a bit more money. And you've got three people to support, here." He indicated Donald and Goofy. "We felt this was only fair."

He stood up and handed the check to me. I glanced at it, and my mouth fell open. "Pence, this is too much. You guys are college students. You need money."

"We can get it," said Pence. "I've got a job working on campus. Besides, we didn't have to give up too much; we just got a lot of people to contribute. The check and the money it is for are yours, and we're not taking it back."

I had to admit, I was touched. "Thank you. You're very generous."

"Not generous enough," said Pence. "You saved Hayner's life, and no amount of money can ever equal that."

I smiled and pocketed the check. "Well, the message comes across anyways."

"Good." His smile faded. "Do you know if they'll catch the woman who did it?"

Great. Now things were uncomfortable. "I hope so," I lied. "The police have been alerted, and have sent out a description of her. It'll be hard for her to hide. But, hopefully, she'll have given up on her blood-draining career."

Pence nodded. "Some of us are calling her the Vampire Doctor." He grinned. "It's a little cheesy, but it's still popular."

Hah. If only they knew how close to the truth they were. "She is reminiscent of one," I agreed. "Maybe she even thought of herself as like a vampire." I made a face. "Let's just hope she didn't drink any of the blood, though."

"Yeah." He looked at his watch. "Well, I need to get back to campus."

I stood up. "Have a safe journey back."

"Thank you. And, one final time…"

I held up my hand. "Don't worry, I know."

Pence chuckled. "Okay." We shook hands. "Good bye, then."

"Bye, Pence. I hope the rest of your college career is a good one."

"I think it will be." And then, he left.

Goofy smiled. "Another satisfied customer."

I laughed. "Though I suppose it's best he didn't know the truth," I said.

"Definitely," agreed Donald.

"But we've still got the truth to deal with," I said.

Goofy nodded. "That's what we do."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**All right, there you have it. What'd you think? What will come of this unusual arrangement? Only one way to find out for sure...but speculation is enjoyed, too.  
**


	10. Breaking Point

**All right, this chapter's a little long, but it's got some important stuff in it. So, bear with me, if you could.**

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The rest of the day was uneventful—no new cases, so I left early in order to get back to the vampire as quickly as possible. I felt better if I could keep an eye on her, and besides, my curiosity about her had been intensifying with every hour that had passed that day. I had the opportunity to find out more about a creature that I spent my life dealing with, and I was going to use it.

I entered my apartment cautiously, and heard, "So, you're back?"

It was coming from the living room, and I found the vampire where I had left her, immobilized. "Thank God," she said. "It's been so tedious here, and I'm getting really sore."

I gestured to the TV, which was off. "Did you watch anything?"

"Some," she responded. "But I got bored. Besides, too much can hurt your eyes."

"Keeping your hypnotic powers sharp?"

She changed the subject. "You know, I'm sore from sitting here for eighteen hours or however long it's been. Can I get up?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Get up? You think I'd fall for that?"

"No, seriously." She turned to me, looking annoyed. "You haven't fed me anything, and I've still got this damn necklace on. I'm too weak to be able to do anything."

She had a point. But how did I know she wasn't lying?

"And I haven't showered," she added.

"You shower?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What, you think I bathe in blood before I drink it?"

"Well, you weren't living in an actual house with bathing facilities."

She shrugged. "I break into other houses. A lot of people who go out don't have much in terms of security."

She broke into houses? I wondered if she had done anything else besides just shower… Had she stolen things? Stolen people? I shuddered at the thought. "You did this daily?"

"Almost. Wasn't always easy to find a good place."

I considered for a moment. Should I let her shower? On the one hand, it would be risky to free her, even if she was weakened. She could still try something. What if she took off the necklace, or worse, did something to it? On the other hand, it did seem rather unfair to keep her like this without ever allowing her to get up once in a while. "Fine," I said after a couple more moments of pondering. "But with some conditions."

"What are they?"

"First, I keep this on hand," I said, holding up my gun. "So you won't try anything."

"Perish the thought," she said dryly.

"Second," I went on, "don't do anything to that necklace."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Third, you get five minutes."

That elicited an animated response. "Five minutes?" she said. "Do you know how long it takes me to get myself all clean?"

"No," I said, "and it doesn't matter. You don't need to get 'all clean,' you just need to keep a basic level of hygiene and get up for a bit. And I don't want to let you out of my sight for long."

She scowled. "Fine."

"And lastly, I'll be checking in every so often."

She looked alarmed, and drew back. "Checking in? What am I, eye candy for you? That one of the reasons why you agreed to let me shower?"

"I didn't mean _come_ in! I meant _call_ in. I will call in every few seconds to make sure you're still there and not up to something."

She looked a little more relaxed, but kept her frown. "Good to see you trust me so much."

"What reason have you given me to trust you?"

She didn't have an answer for that. "So, you gonna let me up or what?"

I frowned and drew closer to her chair. Dropping to one knee, I began to untie her legs. My wounded arm made it difficult, but not impossible. When I had finished, I worried that she might kick me suddenly, but her legs remained still, and she allowed me to free her hands, as well. Once she was completely untied, she rose and stretched. "Ah, that's better," she said.

"Good to hear it," I said. "Now, time to shower."

"Hold on a minute," she said, looking around. "I kinda want to get a look around the place."

I frowned. "That wasn't part of our agreement."

"You never said I couldn't. Besides, the five minutes only applied to showering, right? So, why not use this opportunity to know where it is I'm staying?"

She gave me an almost pleading look, and I scowled. "Fine, you can have a quick glance around."

She smiled, and walked out of the living room. "I've seen enough of _that_ place," she said. "Ooh, here's the kitchen." She opened the fridge. "Got any blood? I'm starving."

"I'll pick up some rats for you from an alleyway," I said.

She looked at me, her face scrunched up. "Rats? You're not serious, are you?"

I grinned. "Well, blood is blood, right?"

"But rats are disgusting. They've got all sorts of disease and filth and…ugh." She grimaced.

"Disease? What are you talking about? You can't get sick."

"They're still gross."

Leaving the kitchen, she continued her tour, as I thought about what she had said. Sooner or later, I _would_ have to feed her. But how? I wasn't going to kill anyone for her, and blood wasn't an easy thing to come by. Maybe I could get some sort of other animal blood somehow?

"Nice dining room," she commented, jerking me out of my thoughts. "I see the bathroom down there." She indicated the open door at the end of the hall. "Which means…" She turned to the last door, which was closed. "That's your bedroom."

"What of it?"

She turned to me, grinning. "Well, now I know where you sleep."

…That bitch. She was deliberately trying to rattle me. Even though she hadn't tried anything so far, this bit of knowledge, she knew, would unsettle me. Well, maybe two could play at that game. I raised my gun at her. "Well, then, maybe I shouldn't let you live."

She looked dully into the barrel. "Yeah. 'Cause I'm just a murderous vampire, right?"

Again, I was reminded of the pain in her eyes that morning, pain that had seemed genuine, when I had called her that. Feeling guilty (and being angry that I felt guilty), I lowered my gun. "Just get in the shower."

* * *

I gave her a towel and saw her into the bathroom. Soon, I heard the water running, and, for the next five minutes, checked in with her—that is, called in to her—at regular intervals. Each time, she called back, and I felt slightly better. When five minutes were up, I called, "Time's up!"

The water ran for a few more seconds, then turned off. I heard her get out of the shower and dry off, and tried desperately not to match an image to the sound; the last thing I needed was to start having fantasies about my vampire captive. "I need new clothes," she called.

"Wear the same ones."

"What, underwear, too? Gross."

I shrugged, although she couldn't see me. "It's either that or nothing."

She sighed heavily, but I heard her putting her clothes back on, and resolved to get her a couple more things. "Coming out now," she called, and the door opened. I stepped back, putting distance between the two of us. She did look cleaner, though maybe that was just because of the wet hair. "There you go," she said. "I didn't try anything. And your damn necklace is right where I left it."

"Watch what you say about that necklace," I warned.

She raised an eyebrow. "Special to you, is it?"

"More than you can imagine. And don't get any ideas."

"Your mom would get mad if something happened to it?"

"My mom's dead."

She blinked, clearly taken aback. "Oh…"

I nodded back at the living room. "Time to go back." I led her back to her chair and redid her bounds. "So," I said, sitting down, "you've learned some things about me. Now it's my turn to learn about you."

She reverted to her attitude-filled self. "Not likely."

"We'll see. First, what's your name?" When she didn't respond, I said, "Come on, there can't be any harm in telling me that."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

"You already know my name."

"No, I know your first name. I don't know your last."

My eyes narrowed. Truth be told, I wasn't entirely comfortable with giving her my last name; I still hadn't entirely stopped considering her an enemy, and information about me was best kept to a minimum. "Then let's get on even footing," I said. "Just tell me your first name."

"Okay. It's Violet."

I frowned. "That was too quick. And that's another flower name. What's your real name?"

"Daisy."

"That's just a different flower."

"April."

"Still flower-themed."

"Chris."

I raised an eyebrow. "Chris?"

"Short for Chrysanthemum."

"Is it really that hard to tell me your name?"

"I told you, once you tell me yours. We're going all or nothing here, Sora. You tell me your full name, and I'll tell you mine."

"You're not calling the shots here."

"Apparently, I am." She grinned smugly. "You can't make me tell you anything."

"I could withhold food from you until you tell me."

She cocked her head. "I don't think you would, though. You don't seem the type to let someone starve."

Damn, she was right. Perceptive of her. "You're right, I'm not," I said. "So, in return, why don't you tell me what your name is?"

"Why? I wouldn't get anything from it."

"You forget that I do have the power to treat you as I please. While I wouldn't starve you, I could make things very uncomfortable. Or, I could make them less uncomfortable, if you do what I ask."

She looked mildly interested. "Less uncomfortable, you say? How?"

"Well, I could take that necklace off every once in a while," I offered. "And let you get up a little more often." I shrugged. "All sorts of ways."

She thought for a moment, then said, "You tell me your name, I'll tell you mine."

I scowled. "Maybe I'll just waterboard you instead."

"I think that would qualify as cruel and unusual."

"No one would know."

"Your conscience would."

"So, what, you're playing on my conscience now? Trying to manipulate me?"

Well, of course she was trying to manipulate me. That's what she did.

"No," she responded.

"I don't believe you."

"Well, if you don't trust me, why should I trust you?"

"I've kept you alive so far, haven't I? I could have just killed you at any time, and no one would have known."

"How do I know you don't have something bigger planned for me? Maybe you're using me as a pawn in some grand scheme."

I frowned. "That's rather far-fetched. Besides, you think that just your name would be some big piece of information that would let me get away with whatever I wanted?"

"You tell me your name, I'll tell you mine," she repeated.

I threw my hands up and walked out of the room. Who would have thought that, when I captured a vampire, she would be so exasperating?

I sighed. This was going to be a lot harder than I thought.

* * *

The rest of the night passed similarly. I made dinner for myself (and tried to tempt the vampire with it, but it didn't have the desired effect), then went back to interrogating her. Yet she remained stubborn, and would not tell me a thing. Even when I tried switching subjects—for instance, I asked her where she was from, or what movies or books she liked, or even what her favorite color was—she remained silent. Finally, I gave up and spent the rest of the evening listening to relaxing music on my computer. It settled me down, but I felt frustration flare up in me again after I went to check on her before going to bed. Taking some deep breaths, I returned to my room, set up my precautions from the previous night, and went to bed.

Sleep provided a much-appreciated respite from the vampire, but it seemed all too short, as I woke up with the reality of having to face her again—a potentially dangerous vampire who, even when she wasn't a threat, drove me crazy. "You know, I'm going to need to go to sleep one of these nights," she said when I went to check on her.

It was true—while vampires did not require as much sleep as humans, they did need some every few days or so. "You can sleep in the chair," I said.

"It's uncomfortable."

"Then tell me what your name is, and I'll set you up with something better."

She fell silent, and I left to perform my usual morning routine, the wound on my arm reminding me what she was capable of. _This might be a way to get her to talk,_ I thought hopefully. But then, _She's already turned down a similar offer. Why should this one be any different?_

She hadn't changed her mind by the time I returned and had breakfast. "Don't forget to get food for me," she called.

"It's not very high on my list, given your level of cooperation," I called back.

"But you can't let me starve."

"I can leave you hungry for a little while."

"Not for much longer. I need blood soon."

Unfortunately, she had a point, so I would most likely have to find a way to sustain her within the next day or two. "I'll give it some thought."

"What's 'some thought?'"

"I'll get you something eventually."

"When's eventually?"

I ignored her and finished my breakfast. "See you later," I said, getting my coat and briefcase.

"No TV for me today?"

"Well, you didn't seem to like it too much yesterday."

"But it's too boring otherwise."

"I'm sure you'll get along."

She scowled at me, but I ignored her again and left, hoping that she wouldn't get into too much trouble when I was gone.

* * *

We had arranged that day to visit Hayner in the hospital; he had expressed a desire to see us himself, and I was curious as to what he remembered from his experience. When we arrived, we asked to see him, and were shown to his room. He was alone, sitting up in his bed, clad in a traditional hospital gown. "Hey," he said when we came in. "You Sora Parker?"

"I am."

He grinned broadly. "Great to meet you; I'd get up if I could."

"No worries," I said, walking over to him and taking his outstretched hand.

"I've heard what happened, what you did," he said. "I can't thank you enough, man. You literally saved my life."

I told him what I had said to Pence. "I'm just glad I got there when I did."

"You and me both." He nodded at my bandaged arm. "Battle scar?"

"Of sorts." I introduced him to Donald and Goofy, and he offered them his thanks, as well. "So, how are you feeling?" I asked, sitting down.

"Hell of a lot better than before," he said.

I leaned forward. "Do you remember anything? About the person who kidnapped you?"

He shook his head. "Not much. I remember meeting her, vaguely…but the rest is a blur. Next thing I remember is waking up here."

I nodded. Good, he hadn't noticed anything suspicious. "She must have used a pretty powerful knockout drug."

"I guess so." He shifted slightly. "What do you think are the chances of catching her?"

"Uh, I really couldn't say. She's clever, but we've got a lot of talented people out there on the watch." Of course, none of them would ever think to look in the apartment of the investigator who had reported her.

He frowned. "I hope they do. I don't want her out there again."

"Neither do I." That wasn't entirely a lie; I certainly didn't want the vampire out attacking people again.

That brought a new thought to mind. What was my end goal in all of this? Find out more about the vampire…and then what? Convert her? Make her unwilling to take another life, and let her go? Would I keep her indeterminately? Would she turn out to be too dangerous to be left alive? Would I end up becoming friends with her, and trusting her?

I snorted. That wasn't very likely. And yet…it seemed to be the preferable option. Thinking about the other possible results brought all sorts of possible negative consequences to mind. But if we became friends, if we managed, through some miracle, to earn each other's trust, then I could let her go without worrying about her too much.

"Mr. Parker?"

"Huh?" I snapped back to reality. "Oh, sorry. My mind went off on a tangent there."

He grinned. "No worries. That happens to me a lot. Especially during class."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I remember when I had trouble keeping up in school."

We got into a conversation, and as we talked, I saw Hayner relax, and become more of the confident, loud person that Pence and his fencing friends had described. It made me feel very happy that Hayner was recovering from the ordeal he had faced.

Yet again, my thoughts strayed back to the vampire. How could she do this to someone like Hayner? Was she even worth sparing, or had I let my emotions get the better of me?

Hayner noticed that my face looked troubled. "Is something the matter?"

I sighed. "Just wondering what kind of person could do this." I glanced at Donald and Goofy.

Hayner's face contorted into a scowl. "Yeah. I really hope they catch that bitch—oh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. You have every right to be angry." And, so did I.

* * *

We visited for another several minutes, then took our leave to let the hospital staff do their thing. Fortunately, Hayner was due for release the next day. We wished him the best, and left.

After getting back to the office and seeing that no one else had come, Goofy turned to me. "I saw your reaction back there, Sora."

"Reaction?"

"You were wondering what kind of person could do that to Hayner."

I frowned. "Yes. Yes, I was."

"I'm with you on this, Sora," said Donald. "I think she's a murderous scumbag, and you shouldn't waste your time with her. Just turn her over to the police."

"Hold on, now," said Goofy. "We're still not sure what her thoughts are, why she did what she did, or if she regrets it. I think you should try to find out more."

"That's easier said than done," I said. "She's a real pain. She's incredibly stubborn, and very unwilling to tell me anything. Not to mention needy. Which reminds me, I need to find some way of feeding her."

"Feeding her?" Donald looked disgusted. "You don't mean…"

"Unfortunately, yes," I said. "I don't want to give her actual food, because then her digestive system might work on it, and she would be left with waste, which she can only get rid of if I'm there." I made a face. "I don't want to deal with a mess if she needs to go when I'm not available."

"Blood's the only option, then?" said Goofy.

"Yeah. It doesn't have to be human blood, though, and I'm gonna go with that; there's no easy way to get human blood that I can think of."

"What about a blood bank?" asked Donald.

"I don't think you can just take blood out," I said. "You have to have a reason, like needing it for a transfusion. And I don't think having a vampire cooped up in your apartment is a valid reason."

"So, animal blood?" said Goofy. "Well…I don't like to suggest it, but if you have to…"

"What?"

"Could you just, like, capture some squirrels or something and use them?"

I thought. "Possibly. Though I don't think trapping is allowed in the parks."

"You might be able to do it subtly."

I sighed. "Well, that's as good an option as any." I opened my computer. "Let's see what the Internet has to say about simple animal traps."

* * *

We spent the rest of the day going out into the woods, setting up basic snares, and catching animals. I was actually surprised with our success; we managed to get two squirrels. But, then again, there were a lot of them in the area.

Then came the unpleasant part. "I'm not cutting their throats open," I said. "I'm put off enough by the sight of dead squirrels. Besides, my left arm's wounded."

"Don't look at me," said Donald. "This is your problem, not mine."

"You seemed okay with helping me catch them."

"That was different. That wasn't gross and disgusting and something I really don't want to do."

I sighed. "Goofy?"

"Gosh, Sora…I mean, I didn't even want to suggest it in the first place…"

I heaved a large sigh. "Fine. I'll do it, but you both are helping me."

Donald raised an eyebrow. "Helping how?"

We strung up the squirrels on a tree branch (a good distance away from anyone who might see us), upside down. Then, I got out a knife and gloves (we had stopped at Goofy's place on the way to the woods), and Goofy brought a small bowl. "You ready for this?" I asked him.

He grimaced, but said, "Well, we've got to do it, haven't we?"

"Unfortunately." Gritting my teeth, I gently raised my left hand and grabbed the head of one of the squirrels, held it steady, and quickly slashed its throat. Blood flowed from the wound, down into the bucket Goofy held.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," said Donald, taking a step back.

"Hey, if chicken farmers can do it, so can we," I said.

When the first squirrel was drained, we moved on to the second, and did the same. When we had finished, we had a small but fair amount of blood—not pleasant to look at, hold, or smell, but we had it. "Donald, cut the squirrels down," I said.

"Why me?"

"Because you didn't help with the collection itself. Besides, you don't even need to touch them."

He grumbled, but did it, the squirrel corpses landing with a thump on the ground. "Let's hope no one sees them and starts wondering," said Goofy.

"Doubt it," I replied. "This place is pretty out of the way. Anyways, let's not stay here for any longer than we need to."

No one argued against that.

* * *

I returned later that afternoon to my apartment, the squirrel blood, slightly chilled, in a plastic water bottle. "I'm back," I called.

"Great," came the sarcastic response from the living room.

I walked in. "Here's your blood," I said, holding up the bottle.

She eyed it. "Not a whole lot, is it?"

"It's what I could get. Don't complain."

"Where'd you get it?"

"Does it matter?"

"I'm curious as to what kind of blood it is. Some tastes better than others."

"Well, you'll have to find out, won't you?"

I set the bottle down and undid the ties on her hands. As she stretched them out, I handed her the bottle. She opened it, sniffed it, and recoiled slightly. "The hell is this?"

"Blood."

"What kind?"

"Drink it and find out."

She made a face, but drank. I grimaced and looked away. "Ech," she said. "What is this, squirrel blood?"

I nodded. "Precisely."

"That's the best you could get?"

I turned back to her. "Hey, it took some effort to do. We had to set up the traps—"

"We?"

I paused. "The people I work with."

"The one whose house I went to?"

"Maybe."

She peered at me. "See? If you're not willing to tell me anything, the feeling is mutual."

"That's because I'm concerned for the safety of my friends." I gave her a hard look. "You don't have any friends."

"How do you know?"

"Do you?"

"Maybe."

I glowered at her. "Just finish your blood."

"But it's gross."

"It's what you've got. Take it or leave it."

She returned my scathing look, but finished off the bottle. "Barely wet my throat with that," she said.

"Deal with it." I wasn't in the mood to be sympathetic.

She frowned. "What's your problem?"

"Well, I just spent a couple of hours catching squirrels, then draining the blood from their dead bodies. It can put a damper on things. Oh, and guess who I saw today?"

"Who?" she asked, looking and sounding uninterested.

"His name's Hayner, though you might know him as your most recent victim." I leaned in to her. "He's a nineteen-year-old college student. Got a fencing scholarship. He's got a lot of friends, and he's a very lively and likeable person. He's got a kind family, who loves him a good deal." My look became burning, and I felt my anger growing. "But you didn't care about any of that, did you? No, to you, he was just some gullible young man in a bar, soon to be a source of your sustenance. Tell me, how many other people have you done that to? Hypnotized and made your victims without even _thinking_ about them and their loved ones? How many hearts have you broken by killing someone they cared about? Or have you just lost count, not even caring?"

It was unkind, but I meant every word. _Did_ she have any idea what she had been doing by killing people? _Did_ she give any thought to the consequences for others?

She stared back at me, a mixture of indignation and shock on her face. "I'm a predator," she finally said. "And predators hunt their prey. It's the natural order of things."

I shook my head. "You never had to kill anyone. Just hypnotize them, drink a bit of blood, and let them go. But you decided to keep them as your own personal blood banks." I peered at her. "Why? What demented thoughts go on in that little head of yours?"

"You want to know?" She said it shakily, though whether it was from anger, sadness, or a combination of the two, I couldn't tell. "I'll tell you what's going through my head right now. I'm fantasizing about sinking my teeth into your neck, and draining all your blood in one gulp, shutting up you and your self-righteous tirades forever. I'm imagining hanging your dead body from the window of your apartment, so that everyone can see it, including your stupid friends. Just add it to the list, hm? And at least you'll be able to join your mother."

I snapped. Before I could think, I was in motion, swinging my fist as hard as I could at her face. As she didn't have anywhere to dodge, it made contact, striking her cheekbone with a great impact and sending her to the floor, along with her chair. "Don't you _ever_ antagonize my friends or even mention my mother ever again!" I yelled. "You dare to dishonor them by speaking about them? I don't even know why you're here. I should have killed you when I had the chance. You're not worth knowing about, and you're beyond redemption."

"So go ahead!" she yelled back at me. "Better late than never, right?"

She turned to me…and I could see tears in her eyes. Was she crying? Did I make her cry? Suddenly, I felt guilty. Not looking at her, I propped her chair back up and tied her hands again. "Not gonna do it?" she asked, and this time I could hear how upset she was.

I needed to get out. Grabbing my coat, I strode towards the door and left.

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**Hm...what did you think? Was either of them out of line, and deserved what they got? And what do you think will happen next? Let me know!**


	11. Goofy Gives Advice

**Good to see you guys enjoyed the last chapter so much. Here's the much-awaited follow-up!**

**Note: All works of fiction mentioned in this story are the properties of their respective owners.**

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I didn't have any particular destination in mind. I just walked, and thought. Had I been overly harsh to her? Was it because of me that she was crying? _Well, maybe she deserved it,_ said a part of my mind. _You said it yourself; she killed people without thinking about the consequences._

_But then why is she so upset?_ asked another part. _Maybe she truly regrets what she's done._

_She's got an odd way of showing it. Her regret could be an act._

_You can't fake what you just saw. Those were genuine tears._

_Tears of pain, maybe? You had just punched her in the face._

_No, it was more than just physical hurt. She was really upset; she sounded it._

_Again, acting. We know she's good at it; she made out well when it came to trapping innocent people._

_Maybe she felt like she didn't have a choice. Like being a vampire necessarily made her a certain way._

That was a potentially interesting thought, but the skeptical part of my mind dismissed it. _That doesn't seem likely._

_But it's possible._

_She threatened to kill you and hang your body out the window for your friends to see. She mocked Mom's death!_

_She was hurting. You had just delivered a tirade condemning her._

_And for good reason; have you seen what she's done?_

_I just think there's more to this whole situation than first meets the eye._

They went back and forth until I looked up and found myself standing in front of Goofy's apartment. _How did that happen?_ Well, I could use a friendly companion. I went inside.

* * *

Three flights of stairs and a short hallway later, I found myself in front of his door, and knocked. "Who is it?" came a voice from inside.

"Sora," I called back.

A few seconds later, the door opened. "Sora!" Standing there, beaming at me, was Chip, one of Goofy's roommates. He was somewhat thin, and a very likeable, buoyant man—and rather flamboyantly gay. "How's it going?" he asked, hugging me (we were on good terms, though not terms that would universally be considered hug-worthy. But I didn't mind).

"Okay," I said, wincing slightly as he put pressure on my wounded arm. "Goofy in?"

"Yeah, I think he was just getting dinner started. Come on in!"

Chip led me into the apartment, a modest-sized, multi-room complex with a TV room, living room, kitchen and dining room, and three bedrooms. "Goofy!" called Chip. "Sora's here!"

"Sora!" Another voice came from further in, and in walked Dale, a good friend of Chip and Goofy's other roommate (who was also very nice and very gay). "How are you?" He gave me a hug, as well, though he avoided my left arm, having noticed the bandage beforehand.

I shrugged. "Here and there."

"Okay, okay. You here for Goofy?"

"Yeah. Just wanted to talk to him."

"Sure," said Dale, smiling broadly, as Goofy walked in. "Hey, Sora," he said. "What's up?"

I sighed. "Just some…issues. Mind if I speak with you?"

"Sure," said Goofy, a slightly concerned look spreading on his face.

Chip and Dale looked at each other. "Should we leave?" asked Chip.

"No, that's fine," I said. "But can we just go somewhere…less public?"

"Yeah, we can use my room," said Goofy. "Dale, can you finish dinner?"

"Sure," said his roommate.

"Can I help?" asked Chip.

"Chip, the last time you tried to cook, you burnt the pasta."

"Well, then I should get in some more practice, shouldn't I?"

Goofy motioned to me. "Come on, Sora." He led me to one of the bedrooms, and gestured me to sit down in the chair. "So, what can I do for ya?" he asked, plopping down on the bed.

I heaved a sigh. "I dunno. I just…had a bit of a moment back in my apartment."

"With the vampire?" I nodded. "What happened? Did she do something?"

"No. Well, yeah, kinda. Well…" I sighed again. "It's complicated."

Goofy nodded sympathetically. "Well, why don't you tell me what happened. Take your time."

So I told him, explaining how I had given her the blood and how she had been less than satisfied, which had irritated me and led me to bringing up the subject of Hayner. How I had accused her of not caring at all for any of her victims, or what killing them might mean. How I had antagonized her, and asked her what went on in her head, and her response and my retaliation. Then, I told him how upset she had seemed, how I had immediately felt guilty and confused, and like had to get out of there. "And I just walked, and found myself here," I finished.

"Uh-huh," said Goofy. "So, you're feeling guilty about what you said and what you did?"

I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know," I said, frowning. "I feel like I should and I feel like I shouldn't. She's killed several people—I don't even know how many—but I don't understand _why_. And I don't know whether I should feel like she deserved what I said or not." I sighed and hunched over. "I want to know more about her, but she won't let me. As it is, I don't know if it was worth it or not to keep her alive."

"Well," said Goofy after a pause, "it sounds like it all comes back to your ignorance about her, and how you want to turn it into knowledge."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So, then, maybe you just have to try some more things to get her to open up to you."

"But what? She doesn't respond to my threatening to cut her off from food or comfort."

"Maybe that's your problem, then," said Goofy. "You're going about it the wrong way. If you're harsh on her, she'll be less willing to give you what you want."

"So, what, I should be nice to her?"

"Give it a try. You never know what will happen."

I frowned. "How do I do that? I still don't trust her, so I wouldn't be comfortable with letting her go or anything."

Goofy thought. "You don't have to do that exactly," he said. "Maybe…do something with her that she wants to do."

I raised an eyebrow. "What, like a date?"

"Well, not with the same meaning behind it. But, like, watch a movie with her, or a TV show that she's interested in. Or read a book to her."

"Read a book to her? She's not a child."

"Who says she has to be? You could read and she could sit, still tied up. It'd be a bonding experience." He paused. "Pun not intended."

I made a face. "I'm not sure I'm quite going for a bonding experience."

"What are you going for, then? What do you want to eventually do with her?"

I opened my mouth, then shut it. "I'm not sure. I've thought about it a bit, but I really can't tell. I guess I'd like for her to not be a killer anymore."

"Well, then, make her nicer. Become friends with her."

I blinked. "Friends?"

"Yeah, maybe you should give it a try. See where it goes." He grinned at me. "Let life lead you Sora, instead of you trying to lead it."

I thought. _Could_ something like that work? "I'm not sure…"

"Well, why not just give it a try? See where it leads you. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least you tried."

I frowned. "Won't it seem a little like good cop, bad cop?"

"Not quite," said Goofy. "Good cop, bad cop interchanges the two, first the good cop, then the bad cop, then the good one again, and it keeps going. If this goes well, you won't have to go back to being the bad cop."

He had a point. Despite his nickname, Goofy could be very levelheaded and sensible at times. And, I had to admit, when I thought about it, I kind of wanted to sort things out with this vampire. How cool would it be to have a friend—yeah…yeah, a friend—who was a vampire? A good one, too. "All right," I said. "I-I guess I'll give it a try."

Goofy smiled at me. "Good. Let's hope it turns out well."

I nodded, agreeing with him, but privately thought that it would take a lot of hope for me and her to get along well.

* * *

Goofy's advice in my head, I returned home, stopping quickly at a fast food restaurant for dinner. Shortly afterwards, I stood in front of my door, nervous about what I was about to try. What if the vampire was so upset with me that she would behave even worse?

Well, that was why I had to try and mend our relationship. It wouldn't be easy, but then again, who said life was always easy? Steeling myself, I unlocked the door and went inside.

It was quiet, so at least the vampire wasn't throwing a fit. And when I looked into the living room, she was still there, silently sitting in her chair, facing away from me.

I sighed, and she flinched, but didn't look at me. Sitting in one of the other chairs in the room, I turned to her and said, "I'm sorry."

She didn't respond, and I went on. "I overreacted earlier today. I don't actually know anything about you, and I assumed that I did, and made judgments and said things based on those assumptions. I wish you would tell me some more about yourself, so I could know what you really think." I paused. "But, perhaps I shouldn't pressure you. I thought at first that this might be like a police or federal interrogation, but it really isn't. No one else is in danger, at the moment, so I don't have to use torturous methods to get you to talk quickly. I just wanted to satisfy my own curiosity, and know what you're all about."

She still remained silent. "I realize that I made you upset," I continued, "so you may need some time." I stood up. "I can give that to you. I'm going to go to my room for a bit, and then I'll come back here and check in. Sound good?"

She didn't agree, but she didn't object to it, either, so I went off to my room, taking my computer with me, and did some more research on vampires, just to solidify the facts in my brain. After that, I watched a YouTube video Lea had sent me the link to, and after that, I made my way back into the living room. "I'm back," I said.

This time, she lifted her head and looked at me. "So I see."

Her eyes were red—and I don't just mean her irises. She had been crying. "How are you doing?" I asked.

Her face remained impassive. "I don't know."

I nodded. "Yeah. Neither do I."

An uncomfortable silence passed between the two of us, until I broke it. "So, enough with the interrogations," I said. "What do you want to do tonight?"

She frowned. "What do I want to do?"

"Yeah. I don't have a whole lot going on, and neither do you. So, let's do something."

"Together?"

I shrugged. "We're both here. Besides, in a way, you're my guest."

She snorted. "'Guest' implies that I'm here voluntarily."

"Perhaps. But you're still here. So, any ideas?"

She didn't seem eager to suggest anything, so I did it myself. "I've got a bunch of movies we could watch. Or TV shows." When neither of those elicited a reaction, I tried something else. "How about books? I've got a few books here."

That seemed to catch her interest. "What books?"

"All sorts," I said. "Some fiction, some nonfiction, some fantasy…"

"What fantasy books?"

"Well, let's think." I thought. "I've got the Inheritance Cycle, The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter…"

"Harry Potter?"

I nodded. "You like Harry Potter?"

She paused. "I've read a few of them."

"Have you?"

"Yeah." She frowned. "But reading books isn't as easy when you're a vampire."

"Well, then, here's your chance." I got up. "Which one do you want? I've got all seven."

She thought. "It's been a while. Could I just start with the first?"

"Sure." I went to my bookshelf, retrieved my copy of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_, and brought it back. "Actually, it's been a while for me, too. I should reread them." A thought came to my mind—something Goofy had mentioned. It sounded silly…but it might work well. "Do you want me to read it to you?"

"Read it to me?" she said, somewhat incredulously.

"Sure."

"I'm not six, you know."

"Your point?"

"Why should you read it to me?"

"Because then we can both get the experience of the story. Besides, if I read it to you, then I can decide when we get to stop. You might be good to go all night, but I need my sleep."

She looked skeptical. "This isn't just because you don't want to loosen my hands, is it?"

"Well…that may be a factor. But it's not the only one."

"What are the others?"

"I just told you." _That, and I do kind of want to get closer to you._ I didn't voice that, though; I didn't know how she would take it.

She continued to frown at me for a moment, then sighed. "I'm going to feel ridiculous…" she muttered. "Fine, go ahead."

I managed to keep my grin small. "All right, let's get started." I opened the book and began to read. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of Number Four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

* * *

I continued to read for the rest of the night, and, to my surprise, found it rather enjoying. I found myself doing different voices for some of the characters. Some made the vampire look at me like I was out of my mind, but others seemed to amuse her. My first attempt at McGonagall's voice, in which I spoke in a comically high-pitched tone, even caused her to giggle slightly.

I managed to get through the first seven chapters before I decided to turn in for the night. "That's as far as you can go?" she said. Was that a note of longing in her voice?

I yawned. "I'm tired, and I have work tomorrow. But, hey, we can keep doing this, tomorrow evening."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

I got up. "Well, good night."

"Yeah, night."

As I went to put the book back, I realized that this was the first time we had actually exchanged good-nights. Granted, hers wasn't a full "good night," but it still carried the connotation.

I grinned. Maybe Goofy had been on to something, after all.

That night, I slept a little easier.

* * *

The next day, when I woke up, I found the vampire sleeping, still in her chair. Careful not to wake her, I left silently. I got to work, where, to my surprise, we got another case, though it wasn't one requiring much work: a guy wanted us to follow his wife after her yoga class to see if she was going to meet with another man. However, her yoga classes were only on Saturdays, so we had a full three days before we had to actually do it. Apparently, Riku had sent him our way, but this didn't seem like a supernatural case—I speculated that he was fed up enough with these kinds of cases that he just decided to throw one our way. We did a couple of background checks on the woman, but nothing in particular came up. It kept us fairly busy, though, and so we didn't have a whole lot of time to talk about the vampire. Still, before we left for the day, Goofy managed to get me. "How are things going?" he asked. I noticed Donald turn to me, as well.

"Well…" I gave him a half grin. "Looking up, I think."

He raised his eyebrows. "Did what I said work, then?"

"It might be."

Donald frowned. "You're not being cryptic, are you, Sora?"

"No, I just think it's too early to make judgments." I looked at my watch. "But I should get back."

Donald opened his mouth, but Goofy interrupted him. "Okay. Have fun, Sora!"

"Thanks. I think I will."

I returned to my apartment, feeling lighthearted, yet not quite sure why. I guessed I liked the idea of making peace with the vampire, and pacifying her. Why, though, I couldn't tell you.

* * *

I got back to my apartment and checked into the living room. "Hello," I said.

She nodded back a greeting. "Have an interesting day?"

"Kind of. Mainly doing background checks and other various checks."

"On whom?"

"This woman who might be cheating on her husband."

"What, nothing involving werewolves or sea serpents this time?"

I shook my head. "Not by the look of it."

"Hm. Well, my day was boring, as usual." She yawned. "Did manage to get some sleep, though."

"Good. I saw you sleeping as I left."

"Yeah, I must have been asleep then, or else I would have remembered you leaving."

"Right." I changed the subject. "So, how much more blood do you think you need?"

She gave me a look. "I thought you didn't like getting me blood."

I shrugged. "You do what you have to."

She frowned. "What…" She shifted slightly. "What exactly preempted this change in attitude on your part? Why are you so nice to me now?"

"Well…" I debated whether or not to tell her about going to Goofy, and decided to do so (though leaving out a couple of details). "After we fought last night, I felt really restless and confused, so I went to a friend for help. He suggested changing my attitude, and I took his advice."

"But why? What do you hope to get out of it?"

"Well, I do hope to find out more about you. But I also…kinda want to just get to know you better."

She blinked. "Really? How come?"

I shrugged. "You're intriguing. My instincts tell me there's more to you than meets the eye."

She was silent for a moment. "How do I know you're not just playing good cop, bad cop?"

Funny, I had asked Goofy nearly the same thing. "Well, with good cop, bad cop, there's an alternation between the good and the bad, that goes on for as long as is needed. I'm hoping I won't have to switch back to bad cop."

She looked a little skeptical, but didn't question me. "All right."

"Then we'll try being civil to each other?"

She looked reluctant, but said, "Oh, fine."

I grinned. "Great. Did you want another shower?"

She peered at me. "You're being nice to me…and suggesting I take a shower."

"For God's sake, stop trying to make me out for a pervert. Believe me, _that_ kind of relationship is not what I'm aiming for," I said earnestly.

"Do you have a change of clothes for me?"

I blinked. "I must have forgotten. I'll be right back." I stood up.

She looked at me strangely. "You think you can just go out and buy any clothes, and they'll automatically fit me?"

She had a point. "What's your size, then? What do you want?"

* * *

After giving me a comprehensive list of clothing items for herself, and after I vetoed several of them, I went to the store. The shopping experience wasn't too bad…except for the part when I had to buy underwear. God, that was awkward. In fact, let's not dwell on it. Let's just jump ahead to the next part, when I returned to my apartment with the agreed-upon items. She took a set, went into the bathroom, and showered. As before, I checked in with her (remember, that means called in), though not as many times as the previous time. "I can't help but notice that you're still having a hard time trusting me," she said when she emerged.

I shrugged. "Can't help it. I can't just do a one-eighty overnight. Trust is something that has to be built, not materialized."

She raised an eyebrow. "Get that off a fortune cookie?"

"Hey, it's true."

"Perhaps. But that means that you have to earn _my_ trust, as well."

"I know. That's what I'm working on."

"Well, if you want to get into my better graces, you can always get me some more blood," she said, smiling sweetly.

I frowned. "What are you trying to do, seduce me? You have hypnosis for that."

"Which, apparently, doesn't work on you." She frowned. "Why is that?"

So, she still hadn't noticed my contacts. "I'll tell you later. What kind of blood do you like?"

"Human."

I scowled at her. "I thought we had agreed to be nice to each other. That means not messing with me so much."

"We had agreed to be civil, not nice." She paused. "But, if not human, then something that's not a small rodent. Dog, maybe."

"Good thing it's so easy to get dog blood around here."

"Are you being sarcastic with me? I thought that violated our agreement."

"Hmph. I suppose so." I gestured for us to return to the living room, and we did so. "I'll see what I can do about getting more blood."

"Good. I can't survive only on your charm and good looks."

I looked at her. "It's not going to be that easy to dispense with the sarcasm, is it?"

"Apparently not."

* * *

I made dinner for myself, and while I ate, I tried to get some more information out of the vampire, but she remained tight-lipped. It was frustrating, but instead of railing on her for it, I tried switching conversation topics, trying just to get along better with her. Unfortunately, without any information about her, doing that was difficult, and we ended up sitting in awkward silence for a large portion of the evening. Eventually, I said, "Well, reading worked out well last night. Do you want to try it again?"

She looked at me, but eventually said, "Sure, I guess."

"Great. I'll get the book, then."

And so I read to her again. As I did, I felt myself becoming more at ease. This was the kind of thing that people who got along did, right? So maybe we were moving in that direction.

We got through another six chapters that night. I considered calling attention to the fact that Hermione had become friends with Harry and Ron, even though their relationship had started out very rocky, but decided against it, not wanting to force anything on the vampire. "Getting to the end," I said. "Tomorrow, we'll find out what will happen to the Sorcerer's Stone."

She nodded, though her mind seemed to be on something else. "A stone that grants immortality…" She let out a humorless laugh. "If only they knew."

I blinked. "Knew?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

I frowned, curious, but knew that if I tried to press her for information, I would get nothing, and she would only pull herself further away from me. "Okay. See you tomorrow."

"Mm-hm."

* * *

And we continued the next evening, finishing off the book. I had to admit, I had forgotten how exciting the ending was, and as far as I could tell, my captive was hanging onto it, too.

"Well, there we go," I said, closing the book after I had read the last sentence. "As good as you remember it?"

"It was good," she answered ambiguously.

"I loved it," I said. "I'd forgotten just how good these books were."

"How long has it been since you've read them?"

"Oh, a few years. I'm not sure how many exactly." I grinned. "And tomorrow, we can continue, if you want. There's six more books in the series."

She looked thoughtful. "Yeah…okay, we'll keep going."

"Great! Looking forward to it."

I got up to put back the book, but as I turned around, I heard a large sigh behind me. "What?" I asked, turning around.

She looked at me. "Kairi."

I blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"Kairi. My name is Kairi. Kairi Silverstream."

My mouth fell open. "Actually, this time?"

She nodded. "Yes. That's my name. You can look it up; I disappeared back in November 1999. Used to live in Minnesota."

I was stunned; she was actually telling me about herself! This was a major step forward. Even though it wasn't much more than her name, I had broken the barrier that she had thrown up around herself. Or at least chipped it. "Kairi," I repeated. "Interesting name. Much better than any of the other ones."

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to butter me up?"

"No, really. I mean, your other names were okay, but not as unique. I like it." I thought of something. "Well, I'm Sora Parker."

She blinked. "You're willing to tell me your name, then?"

I grinned. "Well, it's like you said: you tell me your name, I tell you mine."

A smile spread across her face. "Right."

"Well, good night, Kairi."

"Good night, Sora Parker."

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**So, we've finally got her name. (Though you all managed to figure out beforehand who she was; aren't you're all so clever!)**

**This chapter was a little slower, and the next couple of chapters will be, too, mainly focusing on the developing relationship between Sora and Kairi (though you will get some back stories out of the deal). But don't worry; I've got a good deal more excitement lined up for you all.**

**Until next time.**


	12. The Hunter's Origin

**Next chapter! Good to see so many of you are eager to find out what happens next.**

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From there, our relationship really began to improve. Telling each other our names created a certain sense of trust, and with that established, it was easier to get along and talk to each other. We did spend evenings reading Harry Potter, but I also managed to get in a few minutes of conversation each time. I got it in parts, but I managed to learn from her where she had come from, and how she had become a vampire. (I could have asked Lea to look her up, but didn't for three reasons. One, he would be curious as to why I was doing that, two, he might recognize her as the woman who'd kidnapped Hayner, and three, I was more interested in hearing it directly from her.)

She had indeed lived in Minnesota, as she had mentioned in our first meeting, in a small town near St. Paul. She had been adopted by a slightly older couple, and didn't know who her birth parents were; they had picked her up from an orphanage when she was fourteen months old. She had been brought up well—went to college in Illinois, then came back to St. Paul and had worked as an assistant to the manager of a clothing store until she was twenty-six, when she had become a vampire.

Unfortunately, her memories of that experience were hazy, to say the best. "I don't know what happened," she said one night, "but I can't remember exactly how it happened. All I can recall is walking home from work one night…and maybe hearing a man's voice? Then I turned around, and don't remember anything else."

I nodded. "You were probably hypnotized right after you turned around." Memories of being hypnotized fade a lot quicker than normal ones, so she would have been much less likely to remember being hypnotized over twelve years ago than a normal memory from that time.

"Yeah, I've figured that out. But I don't know who it was." Her face darkened. "Or why he decided to condemn me to this eternal life of being forced to drain the blood of others and being an outcast of normal human society."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

But she wasn't quite ready to expand upon that. Still, it gave me a better insight into her thoughts; she didn't like being a vampire, not at all. But where did that come from, exactly? Was it just how she viewed herself, or was there something else that had prompted those types of thoughts?

Work didn't keep me too busy. We followed our client's wife on Saturday after her yoga class, and she was, indeed, going to meet with someone—but it was for a job interview, not an affair. We did decide to continue to tail her until she returned to her home, however, just to make sure we knew what she was doing. Good thing we did, too—as it turned out, after she came out of the interview, she ran into the guy that she _was_ having an affair with, completely by coincidence. As it turned out, actually (as he found out when he confronted her, and later told us), she had been looking for a job because she had anticipated breaking up with her husband, and wanted to make sure she had something to fall back on. The client was upset, and we felt sorry for him, but he did pay us well, and was rather polite. And, after that, we went back to quietly waiting for another case.

In the meantime, I filled in Donald and Goofy about how things were going with Kairi. Her having a name seemed to give her a more human personality to Donald, and he wasn't as opposed to me keeping her in my apartment. That's not to say he wasn't still wary, though, and didn't trust her very much. Goofy, on the other hand, was glad that I had managed to start getting along with her, and was eager to see what would result. He was also a lot more patient than Donald when it came to waiting for her to tell me about herself. (Fortunately, it was me that had to directly deal with her, and not Donald.)

The pair of them also helped me to get more blood for her. On Saturday, before concluding our case, we went out to a farm and finalized the sale of a cow that we had been negotiating. I won't go into the details of what happened next, but let's just say that I wouldn't have to worry about getting more nourishment for Kairi for a while. And at least she liked it better than the squirrels.

* * *

That Sunday, we encountered a bit of an unforeseen complication. I was reading to Kairi when I heard a knock on the door. "Damn," I said, getting up. "Okay, hold on for a moment."

"I can't exactly leave, can I?"

"No. Don't say anything, either; it might be—"

"I get it, Sora, I'm not going to call attention to myself. I don't think it would be ideal for you or for me if you were found with a wanted vampire in your apartment."

"Exactly." I went to the door and opened it to see Riku standing there. "Riku! What's up?" I asked.

"Hey, Sora," he said. "Do you still have that copy of _An American Werewolf in London_ that I leant you?"

"Oh, right." He had leant me the DVD a while back, and I had yet to return it. "Hang on a sec, let me get it for you."

"Kay. Mind if I come in?"

I hesitated. "Well, it won't take long. I'll just pop back in, get it, and give it back to you."

"But I can't come in?"

"Well, do you need to?"

He blinked at me a couple of times. "Sora…what are you hiding?" He looked at my arm. "Does it have anything to do with that? I don't think I've seen that bandage before."

Damn, he knew me too well. "Who says I'm hiding anything?"

"Well, you're not letting me in, and you just dodged my question." He grinned. "I'm not known as one of the best detectives in the area for no reason. Now, what is it?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about," I said.

"Why not?" When I didn't answer, he said, "Come on, Sora, we've been best friends since we were kids. What can you not tell me?"

Great, he was playing the best friend card. He had a point, though. I heaved a sigh. "Fine, Riku. But it's secret, so you can't tell anyone."

"Secret?" He was intrigued. "What is this?"

"Well, it's big, so prepare yourself, and try not to freak out." That last part was pretty unnecessary—Riku had the remarkable ability to keep his cool in almost any situation. But I still felt like I should say it, because I knew that he would be pretty taken aback by the situation.

"Can do. What's going on?"

I retreated into my apartment, and he followed. "Right in here."

I led him into the living room. Upon seeing Kairi tied up, he stopped dead in his tracks, staring at her. I think he was momentarily at a loss for words; he remained like that, brow furrowed, mouth slightly open, for a few seconds before turning to me and saying, "Going to tell me why the vampire we've been hunting and looking out for is tied up in your apartment?"

"Of course." I took a breath. "I kinda got curious about her."

His expression suggested that was a vastly insufficient reason for doing what I had done. "You got curious."

"Well, it's not just that. She attacked me—"

"She did what? What am I missing out on here?"

I told him how she had, after luring me to Donald's place, brought me to the alley and attacked me. "I managed to overcome her, but before I was going to shoot her, she seemed to give up, and told me to do it. I…it really intrigued me, so I knocked her out and brought her back to the apartment."

He was looking at me like I wasn't quite all there. "That was what seemed the most logical choice to you?"

"It's not all about logic, Riku. This is what I felt was the right thing to do. I can't really explain it."

He frowned. "Sounds like your kingdom is in danger."

"Thanks for having confidence in me," I said. "My kingdom is fine."

"Can you blame me? You were hypnotized before. Who's to say some of that doesn't still linger?"

Firmly, I said, "I trust my instincts, Riku. Can you not do the same?"

We stood looking at each other for a moment, before Kairi broke the silence. "So…Riku, is it?"

Riku turned his head to look at her. "Great, Sora, now she knows my name."

"It's okay. She knows mine, and I know hers."

His frown deepened. "How do you know hers?"

"She told me."

"She just told you?"

I nodded. "I've managed to build some of her trust, and vice versa."

"Trust? So, what exactly are you planning for her? You're hoping she'll suddenly end her campaign of death because you did this?"

"Yes, actually," I said. "She's been living as a feared creature of darkness for all these years. Maybe a different experience will change her."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Sora, that's not how it works. You've been the hunter for all these years. You've been handed my family's legacy, for God's sake. You can't just turn around and start trying to make friends with these creatures."

I returned his frown. "Why not? If it's the best way to deal with them—" here I broke off and said to Kairi, "not necessarily in a bad way—" I turned back to Riku, "then why shouldn't I try it? They may not be human, but that doesn't mean they're mindless monsters."

He shook his head. "This still isn't right."

"How do you know? Are you the ultimate authority on what's right and wrong? You may have the history of being a 'darkness hunter,' as you call it, but I have the experience."

"So you know more that I do."

"I might."

We stood glaring at each other for a while. Finally, Riku scowled and said, "I'm worried about this, Sora. We can't trust her."

"I have her restrained," I responded. "Besides, I'm not sure as you about that last part."

He gave me a hard look. "Just make sure not to let your emotions get the best of you. Remember how that's ended before."

"I remember my history as well as you do, Riku."

He turned his attention to Kairi. "I'll be paying attention to you. Don't try anything, or it'll be the last mistake you ever make."

She rolled her eyes. "_That's_ not familiar at all. Yeah, I'm not gonna hurt him."

"That's hardly a reassuring statement."

"Well, then, I guess you'll just have to live with the unease, won't you?"

I held up a hand. "Cool down, Kairi. Riku, I understand your concern, but I'll be fine."

He didn't look convinced. "I'll be checking in every so often."

"Fine, if it makes you feel better."

He started to walk out, remembered the DVD, came back, got it, and left. Once he had, I said to Kairi, "Sorry about that."

She shrugged. "I'm not surprised at his reaction. He's your best friend?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we've known each other since we were kids."

"And he knows about me?"

"Yep. He's familiar with the world of darkness that lies underneath ours."

She snorted. "Being a bit dramatic, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

* * *

We returned to our routine, and finished _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ right after dinner. I was just about to get out _The Prisoner of Azkaban_ when Kairi voiced a question. "So, you're used to dealing with…different creatures?"

I nodded. "That's right. It's a large part of what I do."

"Why do you do it?"

I paused. "It's…a bit of a long story."

She grinned wryly. "I'm not going anywhere."  
I hesitated. "Okay," I said. Hopefully, telling her would help her to understand me better, and we could get to know each other better.

I set the book aside, leaned in, and began to talk. "I was actually born in Northern California. My parents, Ventus and Xion Parker, took very good care of me, and we lived near Riku and his family, so we got along with them well, too. I had good friends, good schooling…it was a great life. I even had a little sister, Naminé."

"Pretty name," Kairi commented.

I nodded. "Yeah. She was really sweet."

Kairi frowned. "Was?"

I sighed. "Well, like I said, my life was good, but good things don't always last." My mouth set into a grim line. "One day, my world was completely torn apart. I was only fifteen at the time, and didn't take it well."

"What happened?"

I paused for a second, then said, "My family was killed by harpies."

"Harpies?"

I nodded. "Apparently, we had offended them somehow, when they were disguised as normal humans, so they retaliated by attacking my family. It might not have ended so terribly, but my dad, not knowing what the hell was going on, fought back, and killed one of them." I paused. "As you may know, harpies' fury is legendary. After my dad did what he did, nothing could stop them from slaughtering him and his wife." I tried to keep my voice steady. "They carried off Naminé, and probably have killed her, too."

"What about you?"

"I wasn't home at the time. When I got back, I couldn't believe what had happened. Fortunately, Riku and his family had heard the disturbance, and were there at the scene. They kept me from losing my mind entirely."

"Wow." She paused. "That's terrible." She glanced down at my mother's necklace. "I can see why this is so important to you."

"Yeah. No denying it was hard to go through."

"What happened after that? Did you know who it was that had done that to your family?"

"Not at first; I had no idea. But Riku's dad could tell."

"How?"

"His family has a long history of dealing with supernatural creatures like that. He had told Riku and his wife, and had meant to keep it a family secret, but after what happened, decided to include me into the loop."

Kairi nodded. "Seems reasonable."

"Right. Anyways, when I found out, and after I got over the initial shock and despair, I became bent on revenge. I vowed to hunt the harpies to the ends of the earth if I had to."

"Did you?"

I shook my head. "No. At least, not then. Riku's dad told me not to. He said that it wouldn't do any good; that without proper preparation, I would search for years with no success. But since I wouldn't be deterred from wanting to go after them, he agreed to teach me how to hunt the supernatural: how to recognize them and how to deal with them. He had originally planned to pass this on to Riku, but Riku didn't have as big of an interest in it as I did.

"So, I learned from him. I studied a comprehensive guide on supernatural creatures—which I still have today—and absorbed all sorts of knowledge about them. I practiced with weapons, for the day when I would need to fight one, or several, as the case may be. He taught me how to think creatively, in order to deal surreptitiously with these creatures. He basically took me as his protégée, and I intended to one day do what he did. And I do—he was also an investigator, who dealt with strange and unusual cases.

"Finally, one day, when I was eighteen, he got a case involving a werewolf, and brought me along, making sure to instruct me in all the right techniques, and what to do given any situation. I was both excited and terrified; we would finally be dealing with creatures that, for the first fifteen years of my life, I hadn't believed had existed. And we would be helping to make a difference, to improve or even save someone's life."

"Noble even at the tender age of eighteen," said Kairi. I looked up at her, and she said, "Sorry. Keep going."

"Well, he took me out on a night when the moon was big, but not full, so the werewolf wouldn't be at its fullest power. We found it, cornered it, and defeated it, knocking it unconscious and bringing it to a private place, where we waited for it to turn back into a human. Mr.—Riku's father didn't want to kill it, since it was a human that probably didn't know what it was doing.

"Eventually, it reverted back to its human form, and he immediately wondered what he was doing there. We explained the situation—mostly Riku's dad, though. He at first didn't believe us, but we eventually managed to convince him. He was pretty horrified at what he had done, but we assured him that, as long as he stayed out of the moonlight when the moon was more than three-quarters full, he shouldn't revert back to a werewolf. Riku's dad gave him his number, in case he experienced any more memory loss and transformation. So that was my first experience with a true supernatural creature."

Kairi seemed to be quite invested in my story. "So, how did you come to be an investigator in New York?"

"Well, I ended up going to UPenn, which was in another metropolitan area. But while I was there, I began to see all sorts of other supernatural cases. Without my mentor to guide me, I was less certain, but he encouraged me to try to deal with a couple on my own. My very first solo case dealt with a warlock, one of the students who, as I found out, was using magic to convince teachers to give him good grades, get girls to sleep with him, and make himself seem more handsome and appealing. Basically a huge charisma increase."

At the word "warlock," I noticed Kairi's face darken. "Something the matter?" I asked.

"Hm?" She blinked, and lost her dark look. "No, I'm fine. How did you deal with the warlock?"

"Well, I followed him to where he performed his magic, a secluded area in the basement in one of the buildings. He drew his magical circles, designs, patterns and whatnot with chalk, but right when he began chanting and casting his spell, I dashed in and smudged some of the chalk, negating the effect of his spell. Luckily, he didn't notice, probably because he was so wrapped up in chanting, and since his spell was invisible to himself, he didn't know that it had been disrupted." I grinned. "So it was a nasty shock for him when, the next day, he was turned down by both a professor and a girl. I guess he thought something must have gone wrong with the spell, so he returned that night to do it again, but I was waiting for him. I told him I knew what he had been doing, and if he didn't stop, I would take his book of spells, so he wouldn't be able to use it anymore.

"Well, he clearly wasn't happy, and at first refused to do as I said. But then, he decided to trick me, and promised to stop. Unfortunately for him, Riku's dad had given me some basic training in detecting lies, so I was able to sniff out his deception. I told him I didn't believe him, and wanted to take his book. Well, he decided to fight me for it." I grinned again. "But, again unfortunately for him, I knew how to fight, and overpowered him and took his book. He made a couple of attempts to get it back in the following days, but one of them, which involved holding me at knifepoint and trying to get me to give it back, was witnessed by a security guard. He and I were brought up before a disciplinary council, and I had to come up with a likely-sounding story that explained what had happened. Eventually, he was kicked out. And so I was the victor.

"And I kept going. The more success I had, the more confidence I gained, and the better I was able to do it. After college, I moved here, and set up my own little business. It got bigger after I met Donald and Goofy, and introduced them to my line of work. They joined me, and we've been fighting the darkness ever since."

"Donald and who?"

Oh. I _hadn't_ told her their names yet, had I? "They're my partners in the investigative business."

"Ah. One of them the one I tracked to his house?"

"Yeah. That was Donald."

"Who's the other one? Goofy, did you say?"

"It's a nickname. He's a very fun-loving, sometimes silly guy, so we call him Goofy."

"Seems a little condescending."

"He doesn't seem to mind."

"Hm. Well, how exactly did you meet them?"

"I'd met them in a restaurant, and we had gotten around the meeting up for dinner a couple of times a week. Then, one night, when I was taking another case—another werewolf case, actually—I was eating dinner with them when I saw the guy I was supposed to be investigating, and went after him. They didn't know what was going on, but I dashed out of the restaurant, and they followed me, to see me confront and fight the werewolf.

"Well, after that, I kind of had to tell them what was going on. And they were actually interested in it. So, since we were already friends, I sort of integrated them into my work. And it's worked out really well."

I took a breath. It had been a long time since I had told anyone my full story. "So, that's how I got around to being an investigator who looks into supernatural cases."

She was looking at me, an odd expression on her face. "What?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I guess I'm just surprised you were so willing to divulge all that information. Seems rather personal."

"Well, I am trying to get to know you better. I figured it would do our relationship good to know more about each other."

She still seemed slightly bothered, but nodded. "Well, thanks for telling me."

"Anytime."

I was just getting up when she said, "Wait, what about the harpies? Did you ever find them?"

I blinked. "Uh…" It wasn't a memory I relished reliving.

"Don't want to tell me?"

"I mean…"

She shrugged. "Well, if you can stand not pushing me for information, I suppose I can do the same for you." She grinned. "But hopefully, I'll find out one day."

"Until then, then."

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**So, there's Sora's back story (or at least, most of it). What did you think? A little too out there, or did it fit well?**

**And I'm not done with back stories just yet...Tune in next time!**


	13. Kairi Reveals Her Past

**Well, the good news is that I went on a bit of a writing spree on Saturday, and am currently working on my rough draft of Chapter 16. The bad news is that I've been too busy these past couple of days to upload. But, lo and behold, some free time, and I shall use it to give you some more of my story.**

**This chapter's a little long, but it is important. Some pretty significant advances in the Sora-Kairi relationship here.**

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I felt like I had bridged another gap by telling her how I had gotten to investigating the supernatural. I think the feeling was mutual; one evening, two days later, I managed to get some more information out of her.

"So, feel like telling me anything about your past life as a vampire?" I asked.

She looked at me, and didn't say anything at first. I assumed that meant that her response was what it usually was: no. But then, she surprised me. "I'll see what I can do," she said.

I blinked. "What's that mean?"

"It means that I'll tell you a bit, and see how much I end up telling you."

I was pleasantly surprised. "Okay. Great."

She took a breath. "Right, so you know how I became a vampire—at least, you know as much as I do."

"Uh-huh."

"After that, I found myself waking up in an alleyway, at night. Right away, I knew something was different. I felt…well, it's difficult to describe. I didn't know what I had become until after I got up and started walking around. I caught my reflection in a nearby window, and…" She paused. "The pale skin, the red eyes, the fangs…I was able to guess. It wasn't a pleasant revelation."

I nodded. "I can imagine."

"At first, I was barely able to believe it, but when I realized that it made sense…well, I didn't react too well." She seemed uncomfortable and moved on. "Eventually, I accepted my lot…but I…" She took a breath. "I didn't want to become a killer."

_Failed on that one,_ sneered the part of my mind that was unsympathetic to her. I ignored it, as I had been doing a lot the past several days. "Right."

"But I had to get blood somehow."

"Yeah."

"So I just went after animals. It was difficult until I realized my hypnotization powers."

"Uh-huh."

She looked at me. "What are you, a yes-man? Just agreeing with everything I say?"

"Sorry. Would you prefer that I disagreed?"

She didn't answer, and went back to her story. "So, that worked out well for a while. But I began to miss human company. So I decided to head back home. I thought my parents might, if I talked with them for a while and convinced them of what had happened, help me out." Her face grew solemn. "It took me a little while to figure out where I was, and a while longer to get back to my hometown. But when I did…" She paused. "They were older to begin with, and the shock of losing me had hit them hard. And I was away for longer than I thought. I guess they just…had deteriorated."

So, she was an orphan, too. "I'm sorry to hear that."

She nodded. "Yeah. You'd know how hard it is. And so I wasn't sure who to turn to. Eventually, I sought out my best friend, hoping that, with her help, I could make sense of what had happened to me.

"As I looked for her, I ran into some other people, and thought that they would freak out at the sight of me. But they didn't, and I realized that I looked normal in the sunlight. So I managed to find my friend, who was working at the campaign office for a local candidate. She was shocked to see me; she hadn't known what had happened to me, and wasn't expecting me to just turn up again. I asked to see her privately, and she agreed."

Her face became melancholy. "We went to an empty room, and by that time, the effect of the sunlight had worn off, and my red eyes, pale skin, and fangs were visible. My friend nearly had a heart attack, and ran off screaming. I tried to go after her, but only scared the other people in the building. They looked at me with nothing but terror in their eyes, and I…" She paused. "I realized I couldn't go back to my old life."

She became silent. After a few seconds, she added, "That's all for today."

I was a little disappointed that I would have to wait for the rest of the story, but accepted it; it seemed to be a tough emotional moment for her. "All right. Well, thank you for telling me what you did."

"Sure."

* * *

The next evening, I probed her for some more information, and she agreed to continue her story. "After my encounter with my friend, I wandered for a while in despair. Eventually, I became determined to get out again and meet people. So I stole some makeup, and went out to bars in order to socialize." She made a face. "Didn't much like the drinks, though.

"I tried some other places, too, and realized that I could hypnotize people into not noticing my…non-human characteristics. So I did, and that worked out okay. Except that I was never really interacting with the people, just hypnotized versions of them. But I didn't see any other way. And so I had to contend myself with meeting hypnotized people and drinking animal blood. Not to mention sleeping in uncomfortable places.

"There was one time when I tried to hypnotize a guy, but it didn't work. I was perplexed; I had never not been able to hypnotize anyone before. Then, I found out that he had been wearing contacts…"

She broke off and looked at me. "Ohhhh, of course. _That's_ how you've been able to escape my hypnosis, isn't it? You've got contacts." She frowned. "But you said you didn't have eye problems, when we first met."

I nodded. "I noticed how that had been clever of you." I decided I might as well tell her; there wasn't much I was keeping from her these days. "These are colored contacts. I bought them right before we met."

"Huh." She frowned. "I have to admit, that's pretty smart."

"Thanks."

She grinned. "Don't get used to it." She continued with her story. "He got freaked out and ran, and I got out of there. They didn't initiate a statewide manhunt for me, so I guess his story wasn't viewed as all that credible. But after that, I got some sunglasses, and a scarf, to cover myself up in case hypnotization wouldn't work."

Her face grew sour. "Then, one day—I remember it well, it was June 24, 2007. I was walking in a park, and met this guy. I tried to start a conversation, but he seemed wary for some reason. I guessed that he just wasn't interested in talking with a stranger, and started to leave.

"Then, he stopped me, and before I knew what he was doing, tore off my sunglasses. I tried to hypnotize him, but it didn't work. And that's when I found out he was a warlock, and had cast spells to warn him of impending danger. He knew some things about vampires, so between his spells and intelligence, he guessed what I was." Her tone grew contemptuous. "He antagonized me, calling me an unnatural killer and a blight upon the world. When I tried to tell him that I hadn't killed anyone, he laughed. He said that one such as me could not pursue that way of life.

"I was getting upset, so I tried to leave. He called after me, threatening to come after me later with some of his friends." She snarled. "He was a real asshole."

"Sounds like it," I said. I was getting a sense of where this was going, but let her continue.

"His words stuck with me, and I began to sort of believe them. I _did_ feel like I was missing something, the way I had been living. Maybe it was that, as a vampire, I needed to kill humans in order to survive. And it brought back the memories of how my friend from home hadn't even tried to look past my vampirism. I began to think that the role of a vampire was to be a dark creature of terror.

"The next day, the warlock returned, with two other warlocks. Both, like him, thought I was a monster and had to be eliminated. They came after me with silver."

She paused. I guessed this part was particularly painful for her. "It burned," she said. "And…I snapped. I don't think they were really expecting me to strike back."

She fell silent again, while I processed this information. So, it had been a warlock who had influenced her, and made her feel like she did? And she had killed him.

She spoke again. "After that…it just became so much easier. I began to view myself as purely a creature of darkness, living in the shadows, an enemy of humans. And I began to hunt. I switched locations frequently, so there wouldn't be too many disappearances in the same area. And I came here, to the city, almost two months ago." She paused. "I've killed four people here alone. I've lost count of how many altogether. They've just…blended together." She blinked, and I'm pretty sure I saw tears in her eyes. "You were right. I never thought about who I was killing. I was just looking for people to feed off of."

For a moment, I was speechless. Had she just admitted the wrongness of her previous actions? She seemed to have regretted them previously, but she had never actually said that they were wrong. But if, now, she was willing to admit that she shouldn't have done what she did…We were making some real progress. "It's good that you realize that," I finally said.

She blew out a breath. "All right, so there you have it. That's why I killed people. You wanted to know, and now you do."

This was an important revelation. So she had been labeled as a killer, and, because of those perceptions, had become one. It didn't quite excuse what she had done, but it explained it. "Thank you for being willing to tell me," I said. "It means a lot."

"Well, you've been all right these past few days," she said. "I figured there was no harm."

I nodded. "You're right. In fact, it helps me to understand you better." I thought. "I wonder how many other vampires there are who feel like they have to kill."

"But what good does it do?" she asked. "Even if we don't feel like we have to kill people in order to survive, we still go on living eternally. We can't live normal lives. We can't age. We can't grow old with anyone, or anything like that. If we try to blend in, we have to go to great lengths to disguise ourselves." Her face hardened, and I guessed she was trying not to cry. "From the moment we're transformed, we have two options: live outside of human society, or die." She let out a humorless laugh. "I've hated living in stagnation, even for only twelve years. So much so that a part of me actually wanted you to shoot me, that night, so that my life could finally move on."

I felt a great pang of sympathy for this creature: condemned to an eternal life of walking the night, feeding on other living creatures, unable to interact normally with humans. "No doubt, that is difficult," I said.

Then, a thought occurred to me. Was it possible for a vampire to revert back to a human? Theoretically, that would require the removal of the vampire blood from the body. It would be exceedingly difficult, though; the vampire blood would be mixed into her body, and I couldn't think of a way to get rid of it without draining her entire body of blood, which would kill her.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing." I didn't want to give her false hope; it was entirely possible (and very probable) that there was no known way of returning a vampire to a human. She didn't quite believe me, I could tell, but didn't question me further. "So, then, most of your animosity towards humans stems from this one warlock?"

She nodded. "I think he was more of a catalyst, though. People had feared me before, and I was feeling more and more separate from them the more I stayed away. Then, they brought hatred and violence into the mix. I guess I internalized the thought that that was how humans in general would react."

"I haven't."

"You did at first."

This was true. "I'm sorry," I said.

She shrugged. "I suppose I did give you reason to do so."

"Well, maybe." I looked at her. "But that's over now. I've put in effort getting to know you, and I'm really glad I did, because now, my perception of you has completely changed. You're no longer the vampire I once accused of being murderous. Now, you have a real personality. You get sad, and once had people that you loved. And maybe you still do."

I hesitated, unsure of how to word this next part. "I think we might have become friends, Kairi. We know a lot about each other, and have been living together for some time. And you just gave me a list of all your troubles. That's what friends do."

She was looking at me with a strange expression, almost like she wanted to believe me, but wasn't quite there yet. "You consider me a friend, Sora?"

I thought it over. It had only been about a week and a half since she had attacked me, and only a little over a week since I had started being nice to her. But, since that time, we had lived in close quarters, interacting frequently, doing things that we both enjoyed. We had gotten to know each other a lot better, and had come extremely far in understanding one another. We had developed a sense of trust, and I felt almost entirely at ease with her. In fact, just the previous night, I had forgone my usual routine of moving the dresser in front of my bedroom door—the idea of Kairi attacking me (again) had become foreign, and unlikely.

I liked spending time with her. I trusted her. I knew a lot about her. Would I say she was my friend? "Yes. Yes, I do." A thought struck me. "And I'll prove it."

I went over to her chair, bent down, and untied her legs. Then, I went around to the back and untied her hands. "There," I said, straightening up.

Kairi looked up at me, looking a little confused. "What was that? Where are you taking me?"

"I'm not taking you anywhere," I said. "I'm untying you for good."

Her mouth fell open. "You're what?"

"I'm done treating you like a captive. If we've crossed the line into friendship, I think I can allow you to move about my apartment freely."

"But…" She still seemed unable to fully grasp the concept. "You're not worried about me? With my bonds undone, I might change my attitude."

"Why would you? I think you've been sincere to me for the past several days. And I don't think you would attack me in my sleep, or any other time, for that matter."

Her face remaining incredulous, she slowly stood up. She held her hands out in front of her, like she had to see them to believe that she was actually free. "Thank you, Sora."

"You're welcome. Thank you for helping us get to this place."

* * *

I decided that my other friends—that is, the three who knew about Kairi—should meet her as well, and get to know her like I did. This was for several reasons, though mainly because I wanted them to become friends (or at least friendly) with her, to show her that there were multiple people who didn't have to shun her. That, and it could finally put to rest the unsettling thought that I was still somewhat hypnotized, a thought that I knew still remained in the minds of Donald and Riku. The latter had been checking in on me regularly, mostly calling in and checking that my kingdom was stable, but he had stopped by once to take another look at things. I realized that he was just looking out for me, but it was getting irritating, and I would not be sorry if he stopped.

Actually, I hated to admit it, but there was a small part of my mind that wondered if Kairi's hypnotization _did_ play a part in my bettered treatment of her, and wanted my friends over to help confirm that this was not the case.

So, for those reasons and a few others, I invited Donald, Goofy, and Riku to my apartment that Friday evening. They were all pleasantly surprised (though I did detect a note of wariness in Riku's voice when he accepted), and agreed to come. And so, that Friday afternoon, Donald and Goofy accompanied me back to my apartment, to help me get dinner ready. I had told them that Kairi was no longer tied up, so as to not terrify them when they walked in to my place. Donald was a little scared, and even Goofy didn't seem entirely at ease, but neither of them had backed out, and had put on brave faces to accompany me home.

"Wish I'd brought my gun," Donald muttered as we walked to my door.

I turned to him. "Come on, Donald, have some faith in me. I trust Kairi not to attack me or my friends."

"Good for you," he said, "but I don't think I'm quite there yet."

"It'll be fine, I promise," I said, as convincingly as I could. With that, I opened the door and brought them inside. "We're here!" I called.

"Good, it's not a burglar," said Kairi, sitting in the living room. She was reading _Jane Eyre_—reading was becoming her favorite pastime, cooped up in the apartment all day. After trying to read _The Hobbit_ and being unable to get through it, she switched to classic literature. Harry Potter, however, was always saved for our evening readings. In fact, the evening after I untied her, she read it to me, saying that she wanted to switch things up a little. It was an enjoyable experience; she attempted to do some of the voices herself, resulting in the pair of us laughing at her attempt at a gruff, ragged Sirius Black impression. I liked it when we could laugh together; it meant we were becoming more at ease in each other's company.

I led my partners to the living room, and Kairi rose to greet them. "So, these are Donald and Goofy?"

I nodded. "Yep. Donald and Goofy." I indicated each one as I spoke his name. "And guys, this is Kairi."

For a moment, we all stood in awkward silence. Then, Goofy broke it, by stepping forward and holding out his hand. "Nice to meet'cha, Kairi. I'm Goofy."

Kairi took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, as well."

I glanced sideways at Donald, who narrowed his eyes at me, indicating his reluctance to follow Goofy's lead. I raised my eyebrows at him, encouraging him to do so, and he rolled his eyes and turned to Kairi. "Donald," he said, stiffly extending his hand.

Kairi noticed his coolness, but shook his hand anyway. "Ah, yes. The one whose house I visited."

Donald scowled at her. "You scared me and—I mean, you scared my girlfriend."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Kairi replied. "But I hadn't planned to target you. I just wanted to get him." She indicated me.

"How reassuring."

She shrugged. "Well, I know it won't be enough to get you to trust me. Trust is something that has to be built, not materialized out of thin air." She looked over at me as she said it and flashed a grin, which I returned.

"That's very true," said Goofy. "But I'd say you seem all right, so far."

She gave him a small smile. "Thank you. And you're quite the gentleman, as well."

He grinned, embarrassed. "Aw…"

"Well, shall we get started on dinner?" asked Donald.

I nodded. "Yeah. C'mon, guys."

The three of us went into the kitchen, with Kairi hanging back at a distance. (We had decided, previously, that it would be best for her to keep some space between her and the others, as they would probably get uneasy if she got too close.) Dinner that night was chicken Parmesan, with me, Donald, and Goofy cooking. After about a half hour, we decided to change our plans to spaghetti and marinara sauce, instead. "I don't suppose you know how to cook," I called over to Kairi.

"I'm a little out of practice," she replied. "Probably wouldn't do any better than you guys."

"Wouldn't be hard to do better than us," I muttered.

We were only a minute away from dinner when the doorbell rang. "That must be Riku," I said.

"Must be," said Kairi. "I'd offer to get it, but…you know."

"Yeah." Quickly washing and drying my hands off, I made my way to the door and opened it. "Hey, Riku!"

"Sora." He nodded at me, gave me a quick hug, and looked past my shoulder. "So, she's free now."

I had told him about untying Kairi, for which he had berated me for not being careful enough. "Yes, and hopefully that won't take up all of your attention this evening, because if it does, we're not going to enjoy ourselves much at all."

"Mm-hm," he said, only half listening. "Well, I'm not too worried." He pulled back his jacket to reveal his gun tucked into his holster on his side, making sure Kairi could see. "See that I'm prepared?" he asked, addressing her.

She nodded. "Yep. And thanks for letting me know. If I end up deciding to kill all of you tonight, you'll be the first one I go for."

Riku's face hardened, and I turned back to her. "Kairi, you're not helping."

She shrugged. "Sorry. Can't help it."

I sighed. I was going to have my work cut out for me tonight.

* * *

The dinner, I thought, was pretty good, but then again, it had required minimal preparation. Kairi sat with us, but didn't have anything; we had tried having dinner together the previous night, with both of us consuming our nourishment. After a couple of minutes, the smell of hers put me off from mine, and we decided it was a failed experiment. So, she just sat while the rest of us ate. Fortunately, Goofy was willing to give conversation a try. "So, Kairi, I've heard you and Sora have been doing some reading."

She nodded. "Harry Potter. It's been years since I picked up one of those books."

"Years?"

She explained. "I was transformed when I was only partway through the third one. After that…well, my life was a big enough distraction, and they slipped out of my mind, until last Tuesday, when Sora brought them back to me."

"I've never been one for reading much, but I've heard they're good."

"They are. I'd forgotten how engaging they were." She grinned. "Can't wait to keep going."

Goofy looked pleased. "Well, it's good to hear you've got something like that for you."

"Yeah. I'm glad Sora has such a wide collection of books; gives me something to do during the days."

"Well, Sora and Donald are the readers of the group," said Goofy.

Kairi turned to Donald, who shrunk slightly under her gaze. "Oh? You read, too?"

"A little," said Donald uncomfortably.

"What kinds of books?"

"Uh…"

I decided to spare Donald the embarrassment of telling Kairi he liked romance novels (particularly ones that involved people like her), and changed the subject. "Yeah, I've always liked to read on the side. Remember, Riku, when we were kids?"

Riku nodded curtly, still not thrilled about the whole situation. "Yes, you were a bit of a bibliophile."

"Yep. Good times."

The conversation passed into awkward silence, and we humans returned to our food. Finally, Kairi sighed. "I guess it falls to me to make conversation, then. Do you guys all know how I came about to my current situation?"

My company looked surprised; we had all assumed that we were going to avoid the elephant in the room, i.e. Kairi's vampirism. "No, I don't," said Riku, answering for himself, Donald, and Goofy.

"Well, I'll tell the story, and you can eat." With that, she began to recount her history, of growing up and of becoming a vampire. As she did, I saw the expressions of my guests become sympathetic (though some more than others), as they became informed of her back story: how she used to be a person like them, and how her situation transformed her into something else. It took a while (we had finished our dinner and she was still going), but, eventually, everyone was brought up to speed, and knew what Kairi had been and what she had gone through.

When she finished, there was silence. Donald looked taken aback, Goofy looked sympathetic, and even Riku's hardened expression had softened. Then, Donald cleared his throat. "Uh, thanks for telling us," he said. "And…I'm sorry I've thought of you as a dangerous creature. I just…only had some of the information."

Goofy nodded. "You've really put your situation in perspective. I'm glad I know now." He smiled. "Maybe we can become friends, like you and Sora."

Kairi blinked, looking surprised. "Really? You'd want to be friends with me?"

"Sure. We know you're good inside."

She looked at Goofy, and at Donald, who were both looking at her with newfound respect and admiration, and a smile spread over her face. "Thanks, guys."

I glanced over at Riku. He seemed less eager to make friends with Kairi, but he looked like the idea, while maybe not ideal, wouldn't be too terrible.

_Well, this is going a lot better than I expected,_ I thought contentedly. _Way to remove your barriers, Kairi._

* * *

And the evening only got better as we went along. We shared stories and jokes, with Donald and Goofy teaching Kairi about many of the contemporary references they were using. We got out my computer, and showed her some of the new innovations to the Internet, mainly YouTube and Facebook. She was fascinated, and probably could have spent hours on those sites (well, I guess the same applies for a lot of people).

She chatted with Donald and Goofy, and learned a good deal more about them. Donald spent a good amount of time talking to her about Daisy, a good chunk of which was devoted to making sure that she liked him and what he did for her. She even got in a few words with Riku, though he was less willing to divulge any personal information. But, it was a start, and I'd take it any day.

Eventually, it was time for my guests to leave. "Great evening, Sora," said Goofy as he got his belongings together. "Thanks for inviting us."

"Yeah, thanks a lot," said Donald.

Goofy turned to Kairi. "It was nice meeting you and getting to know you."

"It was," Donald agreed.

She smiled. "You as well."

Riku looked at her, as if trying to decide what to make of her, and said, "Yes. I'm glad I came."

"Good," I said. "I'm glad you did, too."

He flashed a small smile. "Mm-hm. Well, good night."

We all exchanged goodnights, and then they left. "Glad to see you got along so well with them," I said.

She grinned. "So am I."

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**So, there you have it, folks! Kairi is now officially a friend of Sora's. But where will that lead them? And what happens when something disrupts that friendship? Read on...(and don't forget to review!)**


	14. The Xemnas Case

**Okay, here's Chapter 14. Things pick up a bit (though they may happen a little too fast), but this is all leading up to something...**

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And so, the days passed. Donald and Goofy made a few more stops by my apartment, and spent the time getting to know Kairi better. Even Riku dropped in once or twice, and didn't even bring his gun (though that didn't mean he wasn't defenseless). And in the meantime, Kairi and I continued to live, talk, and read together. I even let her take off the necklace sometimes (though I hadn't quite become entirely comfortable with her leaving it off). Things were going very well.

That is, for me.

A lot of publicity had been developing around a local case, which I started following a couple days after our dinner. It centered around a man named Taylor Xemnas, who had been accused of murdering his wife and abusing his children. Evidence against him had been obtained, but the legitimacy of the way it was obtained had been called into question, so this wasn't a straightforward case. And, unfortunately, Xemnas had the money to hire a very good lawyer, who had managed to keep his case from swinging against him so far. In response, there was a rather large community who had gathered in opposition to Xemnas, supporting his condemnation (and even sometimes raising funds for it). I had joined that community; it was hard not to, when you heard about what the guy had done. "I really can't see how this case is still going on," I said one day at work. "Isn't it obvious that this guy is guilty?"

"Yeah, I wish the jury saw it that way," said Goofy.

Donald scowled. "I wish I was on that jury. I'd have that son of a bitch behind bars so quickly."

"Well, the other eleven would have to agree with you," said Goofy.

"I'd make them agree with me."

Unfortunately, the legal system was a bit more complex than that, and the case continued on. A smaller community had sprung up in support of Xemnas, saying that he was unjustly accused, and so, of course, a deluge of Internet arguments resulted. "This is a really big thing," Kairi commented one evening, as she was browsing on my computer.

"No kidding," I said. "The media's certainly hyping it up, and a lot of people have strong opinions."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

I rolled my eyes, not for the first time wishing I hadn't taught her that phrase. "I mean, it's a murder case. People are going to get involved."

"Clearly." She frowned. "I don't know if this information age is good or bad; if we didn't know about this case, so many people wouldn't be so upset."

"But it would be happening anyway," I argued. "And this way, we can extend our support to any of the victims, and help in any way we can."

Kairi cocked her head. "What ways are you referring to?"

"Well, people are taking up collections to see him brought to justice, like I told you. And big events like these help to raise awareness for issues of domestic violence." I gestured to the computer. "In this information age, we can know more about things like that, and even if they might be unpleasant, we can help those who need it."

"Always the altruist, aren't you?"

"Oh, come on. You'd want to help victims of domestic violence too, right?"

"Well, sure." Her face darkened. "And if I ever came face-to-face with this Xemnas guy…"

"Well, hopefully, the courts will give him all that he deserves," I said.

* * *

The next day, I ran into Roxas for the first time after bringing Kairi to my apartment; I hadn't had anything to keep me out late for the past two weeks, and with a particular incentive to stay in, I hadn't crossed paths with the evening doorman much. It was in the grocery store; I was restocking my store of food, and I guess he was, too. "Roxas?" I said, recognizing him near the onions.

He turned. "Sora! It's been a while."

"It has," I agreed. "How have you been?"

"Fine. And you?"

"Pretty good."

"Good. How's your friend?"

"Hm?" I said, forgetting for a second what he was talking about.

"Your friend? The one you brought drunk to your apartment that night?"

"Oh, right, of course. She's doing fine now, thanks for asking."

"No alcohol poisoning or anything like that?"

"Nope. Just needed some sleep and some time."

He nodded. "Good to hear."

I hoped he wasn't going to ask me more questions about Kairi; it might get awkward and difficult if I had to make up answers on the spot. "So, have you been following the Xemnas case?" I asked, steering the conversation away from her.

"Some," he said.

"Pretty awful, isn't it?"

"If you're referring to the murder of his wife, I agree."

"Well, and the fact that the courts are taking so long to condemn him."

Roxas frowned. "How do you know he's guilty?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"How do you know he's guilty?" he repeated. "Do you know all the facts? Can you make an unbiased judgment based on those facts?"

I mirrored his frown. "It seems fairly obvious, doesn't it?"

"Not to me. His lawyer's been able to make some pretty convincing arguments in his defense."

"That's because his lawyer's a manipulating scumbag who'll do anything for money."

His frown deepened. "That's a rather strong and opinionated statement to make, isn't it?"

"It seems to be the consensus of most people."

"What, like on the Internet?" He snorted. "Most of those people base their opinions off of limited, biased information that they pick up from a single source."

"It's not just one source that's got that viewpoint," I argued.

"If you consider individual people sources, perhaps. But that's hardly a reliable way to become informed."

"Oh? What do you use, then?"

"I've seen multiple perspectives presented on the case, from different news corporations. I don't think we have enough information to make a decisive statement."

His superior attitude was getting on my nerves, I have to admit. "Well, sorry if not all of us are as methodic and logical as you." I regretted saying that almost as soon as I did; it was a biting comment that I made in the heat of the moment.

He narrowed his eyes. "No, you can't." He turned to leave.

I sighed. "Sorry, Roxas. I've just gotten caught up in this case, and have developed strong opinions because of it. I didn't mean to snap at you."

He glanced back at me. "Well, maybe you could give a bit of thought as to what I said. It might calm you down."

"Yeah, maybe."

* * *

I ended up not taking his advice, though. Almost the opposite, in fact; as time went on, I found myself becoming more invested in the case. My instincts were telling me that Xemnas was certainly capable of murder and child abuse, and my instincts were usually right. Of course, instincts weren't enough for an actual convincing argument, but then again, I didn't have anyone I was really trying to convince. I didn't see Roxas for several more days after, so we didn't have another opportunity to exchange ideas about our conflicting points of view.

Then, one day, I arranged to meet with Lea for lunch; there had been a lot of activity going on at the police station, since the case was building up to its conclusion, and he wanted a break. So, at twelve-thirty that afternoon, I went with Donald and Goofy to a fast-food restaurant near the police station. After ordering and getting food for ourselves, we took a spot, and waited for Lea. He arrived a few minutes later, looking irritated. "Hey, guys," he said, sliding into the booth next to me after placing his order.

"Hey, Lea," I said. "Rough day?"

He put a hand to his face. "You have no idea. People are thinking that Xemnas might get off, so everyone's running around to make sure there's nothing we missed."

My face darkened. Lea was right; there was every possibility that Xemnas would get off. And if he did, he would go right back to abusing his family—that is, what remained of them. It was times like these when I found myself very dissatisfied with the legal system.

"What do you think his odds are?" asked Donald.

Lea sighed. "Really couldn't tell ya. It's up in the air, even with the end in sight. Everyone wishes it wasn't—well, except the bastard himself, and his crooked lawyer—but, unfortunately, there's not much we can do to change that. We've looked and looked, but we can't find anything against him that wasn't already said."

"What about his son?" asked Goofy. "Didn't one of his sons testify against him?"

"Yeah, kinda," said Lea. "But Xemnas's lawyer made an argument delegitimizing it." He bit his lip. "It's that son I'm really worried about. If Xemnas gets off, his son's going to get the worst of his wrath for testifying against him."

I nodded grimly. "You'd think the judge and jury would have to see what kind of a man he is. But they're restricted by all the rules enforced on the court system."

Lea shrugged. "Well, it does work most of the time."

"But is that good enough?" I said. "For those few times that it doesn't work, someone unnecessarily suffers."

Lea sighed again. "It's very hard to avoid suffering, Sora."

"But look at this case. Xemnas's son is, what, ten? He's going to be beaten harshly by his father if he gets off. How can anyone stand by and allow this to happen?"

"Because it's the law," said Lea.

"Well, the law's stupid."

"It keeps people safe."

"Not always."

"Most of the time."

"But for those few times when it makes someone's life worse, it's a bane."

"Well, what would _you_ change it to?" said Lea, irritated. "Do you have anything better in mind, or are you just going to sit there and bitch about it?"

We glared at each other for a moment. Then, Lea let out a breath. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know the law can be frustrating. I've just had a bad week."

"No, it's fine," I said, relenting, too. "I get that it's not your fault, and that it's a system that's usually satisfactory." I sighed. "It's just in cases like this where I feel that… couldn't it be better?"

"I know, man," said Lea sympathetically.

Lapsing into silence, we ate our food, but our minds were still on Xemnas, hoping that the legal system would come through and see justice delivered.

* * *

It was two days later, on Tuesday, that the verdict was to be announced. As the news spread, people became more on edge. I was one of those people, and found myself counting the hours until seven o'clock that night, when Xemnas would either be imprisoned or released. Thus, work passed rather slowly, and when it came time to leave, I did so quickly. Donald and Goofy, likewise anxious, did the same.

I ate dinner rapidly, even though there was still a good amount of time until seven. "What's the rush?" asked Kairi. "It's not until seven. Do you have something to do beforehand?"

I shrugged. "No. I guess I'm just anxious to see the case over with."

"Well, you'll have to wait until seven, whether you choke on your food or not."

After dinner, I tried to keep myself busy by engaging in small talk with Kairi, but the event of the night always remained in the back of my mind, distracting me. Finally, at six-thirty, I turned on the TV, unable to wait any more. "You're still going to have to wait for a while," Kairi commented.

"But they'll be talking about the case, and I might get a better idea of how it'll end up."

Finally, after thirty minutes of exposition, seven-o'clock arrived. The news station had a camera in the courtroom, so I was able to watch a live coverage.

The room was silent, but you tell that it was fraught with tension, even through a television screen. At the front of the room was the judge's seat, with the prosecutor and defendant at tables in front of it, on either side. The jury box was filled.

Then, a door in the front of the room opened, and the judge walked in. "Please rise," said the officer, and everyone did. The judge took his seat, and everyone sat.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," said the judge, "have you reached a verdict?"

_So many protocols…just get to the damn sentencing already!_ I thought.

"We have, Your Honor," said the spokesman. He handed a piece of paper to the police officer, who gave it to the judge, who unfolded it and looked at it impassively. After a second, he said, "Will the defendant please rise?"

Xemnas got to his feet, his face blocked by his long silver hair.

"And how do you find the defendant, of criminal charges of first-degree homicide and domestic abuse?"

The spokesman took a breath, then said. "We find the defendant Not Guilty."

For a split second, there was stunned silence. Then—

"WHAT?"

I got to my feet, as did many of the people in the court. "Not Guilty? How the _hell_ did they find him Not Guilty?" There was some more drama going on in the court, with people shouting and the judge banging his gavel, but I ignored it. Xemnas had got off! "Can you believe this?" I asked, turning to Kairi. She had an odd expression on her face, but, in the mood I was in, I didn't pay it much attention. "God _damn_ it! This is outrageous!"

I got out my phone and called Lea, moving into my bedroom. "Sora," he answered gravely after a few rings.

"Lea! How the hell did this happen?"

"These things happen, Sora. Don't try to blame it on us."

"No, I wasn't, but…" I ran a hand through my hair. "What now? Xemnas is going to go back to his house and continue to abuse his sons! Especially the one that testified!"

Lea sighed. "I know," he said. "But we'll be doing everything we can to make sure that he doesn't get away with something like that again."

"What, are you going to wait until he kills again?"

"Of course not! But there's only so much that we can do!"

"What do you mean? You're the police, for crying out loud!"

"What, you think that, just because we're police, we're above the law? We're the ones who have to be the most careful about following it! We want to prevent Xemnas from causing any more harm, but we can't just go about it any way we can!"

I groaned. "What can you do, then?"

"We're thinking of ways to help right now, Sora. Don't worry; we're not ineffectual. Now, I have to go and help. Try to calm down; we'll work things out as best as we can."

_Yeah, but how good is that?_ I thought.

I hung up and texted Donald and Goofy, suggesting we discuss things over Skype. They consented, and within a few minutes I was sitting on my bed, looking at them both on my laptop screen and listening through a pair of headphones. "He's just going to get out and keep doing what he's doing," I said vehemently. "How could our justice system allow this?"

Both my friends knew it was a rhetorical question, so they didn't answer. "But if he hurts his kids again, won't he be able to be charged again?" asked Goofy.

"That's only if anyone finds out," I said bitterly. "And I doubt he would allow that. If he was smart enough to evade charges of murder and abuse, he'll be smart enough not to get caught again."

Donald was fuming. "Just give me five minutes alone with him, and I'll make sure he never hurts anyone again."

I nodded. "I wish we could be allowed to."

Goofy sighed. "Well, fellas, I'm afraid there's not much we can do…"

"And that's why we're so angry!" I said. "Because we're helpless to ensure that Xemnas doesn't go after his family again!"

"You can't do everything, Sora."

I growled. "Don't remind me."

* * *

Our conversation continued for another several minutes, until, eventually, we broke it up. Maybe I could talk to Kairi about this, and see what she had to say. Maybe she could think of something to make me feel better. (Goofy had calmed me down a bit, but I was still riled up.) "Sorry about that," I said as I emerged from my room. "But I was just really upset by—"

I stopped. Kairi was no longer in the living room. "Kairi?"

I checked the kitchen and dining room, but didn't see her there, either. Nor was she in the bathroom. "Kairi, where are you? If you're trying to be funny, it's not working."

My paranoid self, which had been pretty quiet as of late, reared its ugly head. _What if she's hiding, lying in wait for you?_

_Don't be ridiculous,_ I responded. _We've become friends. There's no way she would hurt me._

But something about the situation did make me uneasy. Where had she gone?

Then, I noticed something else. I was missing one of my large butcher knives. Had Kairi taken it? What was she planning to do with it?

Now I was more worried. My paranoid self was working on convincing me that she had been acting nice this whole time, just to get me comfortable, and had even been using hypnosis on me—and the others, when they had come over. _That can't be,_ I thought. _Riku wears contacts, and I've had mine in for…most of the time…_

I had stopped wearing the contacts a few days previously, having reached a point in my relationship with Kairi where I was comfortable without protection against her hypnosis. Had that been a mistake? _No,_ I thought. _I'm still in control of myself. I'm still in control of my kingdom._

_Do you know _everything_ about hypnotization?_ asked my paranoid self. _Maybe there's something you're missing that allowed her to take control of you._

No. There had to be a different explanation. I went back out into the hallway—and then noticed something else. My coat was gone, too.

_What? Has she left?_ I walked up to the door. The silver bracelet was still on the handle, so she couldn't have opened it without suffering some pain. But it would still have been possible…

I went back to the living room, and noticed one final thing I hadn't before: my mother's silver necklace, lying between the cushions of the couch. I picked it up. What the hell was going on here? Kairi was missing, along with my coat and a knife, and she had left behind the necklace that restricted her powers. _Well, she has taken it off sometimes,_ I thought.

_But never under these circumstances,_ my paranoia responded.

I tried to think logically. What reasons would Kairi have had to do what she had done? She was missing, with my coat and a knife, and she had left her necklace behind…

She must be planning to do something. But what?

I couldn't say why, but I was afraid. I wanted to find her, before she did something harmful to someone else…or herself.

Grabbing my phone, I called Donald and Goofy and asked them to meet me in front of my place as soon as they could.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, we were congregated outside of my apartment building. I had just explained to them what had happened. "You're sure she's not in your apartment?" said Goofy.

"Positive. I couldn't find her, and Roxas said he saw her leave a few minutes ago."

"How many minutes?" asked Donald.

"Maybe forty? He wasn't exactly sure."

"Well, how can we find her?" asked Goofy. "New York's too big of a place to search methodically."

I wiped my sweaty palms against my pants. "I don't know. All I know is that she's out here somewhere, with a knife, and without something to restrain her."

"Are you worried she's going to attack someone?" asked Goofy.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I'm worried that she's going to do something, but as to what, I'm not sure."

"Well, we won't get anywhere just by standing around. Let's start looking!" said Donald.

"But where?"

He shrugged. "Anywhere. Everywhere."

* * *

That didn't turn out too well. "This isn't working," I said after a while.

"Do you have a better idea?" asked Donald.

I took a breath. "Let me think." Trying to calm myself, I looked deep into my thoughts and feelings, trying to find out where Kairi might have gone. What did my instincts say? "I…I get the feeling she's not too far from my apartment."

"Then let's head back there," said Goofy. "Maybe you'll think of something else on the way."

I nodded. "Yeah."

We started walking back, I continuing to try to think of where Kairi could be. But nothing presented itself to me.

I groaned. What was the point? We would probably end up going around in circles for hours and not find anything. Kairi could be in any number of places. _She could be luring someone to their doom right now, hypnotizing them into submission,_ said that part of my mind that didn't believe in her.

I hoped not. Not only had Kairi really seemed to change since that night she attacked me in the alley, but—

I paused. _The alley._ Something about the alley where we had fought triggered something.

"Sora?" said Goofy, noticing that I had stopped.

"I may have an idea," I said slowly. Then, I began walking at a brisk pace. "Come on, follow me."

They did, and so the three of us made our way to the alleyway where I had been ambushed, that night over three weeks ago. Finally, we got in sight of it, and I quickened my pace. "You think she's there?" said Donald.

"It's as likely a place as any," I said.

As we drew nearer, I saw a figure farther down the alley, almost out of sight. "Kairi?" I called. The figure started, and I began jogging. "Kairi!"

I could see it was her now; her red hair stood out, and I recognized her body shape. Relief flooded through me; we had found her.

But then, I noticed something else. She was not alone. As I drew nearer, I realized with horror what the second figure was.

It was a dead man, my knife in his chest.

I stared at the scene in horror. What…Had Kairi done this? Had she reverted to her old ways of killing people? And…was that blood on her mouth?

"Sora," she said, noticing my expression. "Please, let me explain…"

"Explain what? The dead guy?" I looked at her, aghast. "Did you do this, Kairi?"

She didn't respond…but it was an answer. "How could you do this?" I demanded. "I thought we were getting along! Were you just tricking me this entire time?"

By now, Donald and Goofy had caught up to me, and were surveying the scene for themselves. I paid them little attention, though, mainly focused on Kairi.

"But…I…" she said slowly.

"You what? How much of what you've said to me was the truth?"

"All of it!" she said.

"How can I believe you when I've seen this?"

"Uh, Sora?" said Goofy, but I ignored him.

"Did you think you could just go out on your own and kill someone? Was cow blood not enough?"

"Sora," said Goofy, more firmly.

"What did that man do? Did you not think about him, either?"

"Sora!" This time, it was Donald, and he grabbed my arm to get my attention.

I turned to him. "What?"

Donald pointed. "Look."

I looked in the direction of his finger, which was pointing at the dead man. I hadn't noticed him in great detail earlier, too struck by the situation. But, now that I looked at him, he did seem familiar…

I turned my head to get a better view and gasped. I knew that man. I had seen him on TV just earlier that night.

It was Taylor Xemnas.

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**So...what do you think happened? What do you think will happen? Give to me the reviews.**


	15. Reconciliation

***exhales* Okay, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait; I have been busy, busy, busy (and I still have some more work to do, so I probably won't update exceptionally frequently for the next week or two). But, I've left you all hanging for long enough.**

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I continued to stare at Xemnas for a minute, then turned slowly back to Kairi. "You killed Xemnas?"

She looked upset, but nodded. "In a way," she said. "I made him kill himself."

"You hypnotized him?"

She nodded again. "I got him to admit that he actually had killed his wife, then gave him the knife and told him to think about what he'd done. I…kind of vented my frustration on him, of being called inhuman and an outcast. I said that he was less of a human than I was, and that he didn't deserve to live." She indicated the body. "I got through to him."

I was silent, still fully processing the situation. Kairi had gone out and killed Xemnas? "Why?" I finally managed to ask.

For a moment, she didn't answer. Then, she said, "I noticed how upset him getting out had made you. I wanted to make sure he got his just desserts and didn't hurt his kids again."

She had done this for me? I wasn't sure whether to feel upset…or touched. On the one hand, she had directly caused the death of someone. On the other hand, he was a murderer and an abusive father, and she had done it in order to make _me_ feel better.

She was willing to kill for me? Just how deep did our relationship go?

Donald broke the silence. "So…we do have a dead body on our hands…"

I blinked. "Oh. Right." I turned back to Xemnas. "Yeah, we need to do something about him."

"Can we just toss him in the dumpster?" asked Donald, glancing at it.

"Maybe." I looked around. "There's no one here, so…" I heaved a sigh. "All right. Let's do it, but be quick about it."

Donald opened the dumpster while Goofy and I turned to the body. "We have to make sure not to get fingerprints on him," I said. "If he's found, we don't want any way to be linked to this."

"Should you take back your knife, then?" asked Goofy.

"Good point." Gripping the handle, I yanked it out, prompting a large flow of blood from the wound. "Gotta take care of this quickly, now," I said. We took hold of him, making sure not to get fingerprints on surfaces that would be easy to dust, and, as quickly as we could, ran him over to the dumpster and dropped him in, Donald closing the lid right after. "Well, that's taken care of," he said.

I nodded. "Yeah…"

But I knew that it wasn't. Xemnas might be dead and his body hidden, but there was still the matter of Kairi. I had accused her of reverting to her old ways when she hadn't, and broken my trust in her. And I could tell she was upset about that.

She did manage to not bring it up as we walked back to my apartment, though. In order to keep people from getting a good look at her, the three of us stayed close, and she kept her eyes down. The bloody knife I concealed under my coat, which I had retrieved from Kairi.

"You found her?" asked Roxas when we got back.

I nodded. "Yeah, but we've got to get back upstairs."

"All right." He let us in, and we made our way to the elevator.

"I think I've got it from here, guys," I said to Donald and Goofy.

They nodded. "Okay, but let us know if you need our help," said Goofy.

"Will do. Thanks for helping me find her." Implicit in that was a thanks for calling my attention to Xemnas, and stopping me from saying more things to Kairi that might have hurt her. I hoped they noticed it.

* * *

We got up to my apartment and entered, still in silence. Kairi didn't look like she was prepared to say much, and went to the living room and lay down on the couch.

I sighed. "Kairi, I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions."

She looked at me. "Good to see you trust me so much."

"I just—" I sighed again. "I assumed things that I shouldn't have when I first saw the scene. It was a mistake."

She remained stone-faced, and turned on the TV. "I don't think you've lied to me," I continued, "and I don't think you're a murderer."

"Don't you?" She turned to me. "You sure seemed to think otherwise."

"I told you, I—"

"Said the first thing that came to your mind. And that was condemning me as a cold-hearted murderer. Isn't that right? I had hoped that I had managed to convince you that I wasn't, but I guess that was just a fool's dream, wasn't it?"

"No, it—"

"I told you everything about me, Sora. I practically poured my heart out to you, because you had made me believe you were different, and that you wouldn't just see me as a monster. But you just couldn't get over that impression, could you? That was just too much, especially for someone like you, who takes down creatures like me for a living."

"I don't—"

"And now, I don't know how much I can actually trust you. If you don't trust me, then what's the mutual trust I thought we had set up but a lie?"

"It's not—"

She turned away from me and folded her arms. "Forget it, Sora."

I stood with my mouth hanging open. She really was mad at me. Well, for good reason, I suppose. But it didn't look like we'd be making up any time soon. "Kairi…"

She didn't respond.

I let my shoulders sag. "All right. I said some things that I shouldn't have. It was very wrong of me, and I admit that. But if you still need some time to cool off, that's fine. I'll give it to you." I started towards my room, then stopped. "But I would like to see you again, and talk with you about how we can overcome this."

I think her expression softened a bit, but I wasn't certain. I tossed the bloody knife into the sink, and then made my way off to my room, where I got a text from Goofy.

_Holding up all right?_

I texted back. _Kairis mad at me._

_For accusing her of murder?_

_Yeah._

_Did you apologize?_

_Yeah, but shes still mad._

_Maybe give her some time to cool down?_

_Yeah, thats what im trying._

_Okay. Hope it goes well!_

_Thx._

I sighed and flopped down on my bed, my mind concentrating on ways to make it up to her.

* * *

That night was a restless one. I spent a lot of it tossing and turning, and when I did get to sleep, I didn't sleep very deeply, and woke up the next morning feeling pretty tired. Lethargically, I got out of bed, showered, and went into the living room, where Kairi was reading _Persuasion_. Seeing her reminded me that last night had been the first night in a long time that we hadn't spent reading Harry Potter. She looked up as I entered, then turned back to her book. But at least she was there, which meant that she was willing to talk things over. "Good morning," I said, sitting down.

She didn't say anything, and turned a page of her book. "I'm here to apologize again, Kairi, and however many more times I have to until you can forgive me."

She blinked and glanced sideways at me, but still remained silent. "I don't like being at odds with you," I continued, "and I hate to see you like this. I know you're hurting. I know you, or at least some part of you, thinks I'm untrustworthy. But I swear to you, I have been making a genuine effort to get along with you these past few weeks."

I sighed. "But you're right. It's not easy to completely rid myself of my fears about you. I've been working on it, and have managed to mostly dispel them, but I can't get rid of those small fragments that cling onto my mind. When I saw you last night with a dead man, drinking his blood, it gave those fragments an excuse to grow and take over my thinking for a moment. I…I was scared, and I lost control a little bit."

Finally, she turned to me and spoke. "Scared?"

I nodded. "I was terrified that I'd lost you, the you that I know. I've come to really like you, to think of you as a really good friend. I was afraid that the days of talking, of learning about each other, and of reading Harry Potter were over. And I guess my fear took over."

She was looking intently at me, as if trying to confirm that I was telling the truth. "Really?" she asked, but her tone wasn't skeptical—it was hopeful.

I nodded. "So, tell me what I have to do to make it up to you. I…you've become very important to me."

She stared at me, her expression difficult to read. Then, she said, in a soft voice, "You've become important to me, too."

For a moment, we sat staring at each other. I could feel my heart pounding. Then, very slowly, she began to lean in, and I felt myself mirroring her actions. My heart rate increased. Holy shit, were we actually going to…

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, and we both jumped and straightened up. "Uh, that's me," I said, reaching into my pocket. The message was from Donald, and it asked how I had done with Kairi last night. "It's…it's just from Donald."

"Oh."

We sat in awkward silence for a moment, then I got up. "I had better get to work."

"Yeah. Yeah, right."

"Well, uh, see you later."

"Yeah, you too."

I grabbed my coat and left, not even bothering to get breakfast.

* * *

My mind was reeling as I made my journey to my office. We had been about to kiss, back there. Was this what our relationship had become?

_Yes, it is,_ said a part of my mind. _You've had thoughts like this for some time._

It was true; thoughts of being in a romantic relationship with Kairi had crossed my mind multiple times before, but I either discarded them as insignificant or reinterpreted them as referring to something different. Now, though, I was forced to face them as something significant.

_But this can't go anywhere,_ said another part of my mind. _Remember what happened last time you became really emotionally invested in something involving supernatural creatures?_

_This is different,_ argued the first part of my mind. _This is nothing like that. There's no potential for what happened to happen again._

_Even so, how do you view a future for a human and a vampire? She'll live forever, while you won't._

_Unless she turns you into one._

_Do you really want that? You've heard what she's said about being an outcast of society._

_You'd have her, though. And your close friends._

_But do you honestly think that being condemned to an eternal life of vampirism is worth it? You've only just realized that you like her; it's way too early to think that you'll want to become a vampire just to be with her._

I had to agree with that statement. _But what's wrong with trying it and seeing where it goes?_

_Because you could get too caught up in this, and something could happen._

_That applies to any relationship._

_But there are a lot more "somethings" in this case. It's not worth it. When you go back today, just tell her that it wouldn't work out._

_I'd hate to hurt her feelings…_

_You don't have to. I'm sure she'd understand. Just say that, if things were different, you might go for it, but as things are, it would be too problematic._

I thought. Was that what I would have to do? _I suppose so._ That part of my mind was right; a relationship between a human and a vampire wouldn't work out. Unless she turned me into one, and I couldn't say that that was something I really wanted. _Fine, I'll do it. I just hope she doesn't take it too poorly._

* * *

Work passed with that thought in the back of my mind. We had no cases lined up, so we spent the majority of the day researching some of the supernatural creatures in our guide, in case the information needed to be updated. I kept my situation from Donald and Goofy; if everything went well, it would be as if it had never happened, and they wouldn't have to worry about it. Still, I couldn't shut up that small part of my mind that was imploring me to reconsider, to go with my heart and start a relationship with Kairi. _No,_ I kept telling it. _You know it would give rise to all sorts of issues. I like her, but it's just not worth it._

It kept me distracted, though, and so I didn't get much done that day. Donald and Goofy asked me a couple of times if everything was all right, and I considered telling them, but ultimately refrained from doing so.

Finally, the end of the workday rolled around, and I was forced to go back to my apartment and face Kairi. _With any luck, she'll be pretending this morning didn't happen,_ thought a hopeful part of my mind, but I doubted it; it was hard to just let something like that go. And so, I steeled myself for what I had to do as I opened my door.

"I'm back," I called, then wondered why I did; she would hear the door opening and know it was me, wouldn't she?

"Hi," she called from the living room, a slight hint of nervousness in her voice.

Hesitantly, I walked in, where she sat on the couch, reading _Persuasion_, like this morning. Though it didn't look like she had made much progress. Had the events of this morning been too much of a distraction? "How was work?" she asked.

"Quiet," I said. "Not much going on."

"Boring?"

"Well, we did have some things to do."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Mostly researching different supernatural creatures to make sure we have all the right information."

"Oh."

After a moment of awkward silence, I said, "Well, I'd better get dinner ready."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, you do that."

I went to the kitchen, still thinking about how to broach the subject. Would it be best to just come out and say it? Should I wait for her to say something? Could I try and work up to it somehow? Damn, this was anxiety-inducing.

So much so that it made me mess up dinner twice. Finally, I threw some leftovers into the microwave and ate them, though my apprehension for what I would have to do after dinner took away most of my appetite.

After dinner, I took my time cleaning up, even though I knew I was only delaying the inevitable. Finally, though, I told myself that I had to do it, and went into the living room, where Kairi was still trying to get through _Persuasion._ "Look, Kairi…" I began.

Immediately, she looked up from her book. "Yeah?"

I sat down and looked at her. Whoo, boy. How was I supposed to do this, exactly? "I need to talk to you."

"Uh-huh." She put down her book.

I took a breath. "It's about…what happened this morning."

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I…it…I…" Damn, I couldn't figure out how to begin. "I can't deny the…connection we have with each other."

"No."

"But…" This was the uncomfortable part. "But…I think it would be best if we didn't take it too far."

She nodded. "Right. I…of course. It's only logical."

Well, that was a relief; we were thinking along the same wavelength. "Not that I don't like you," I said. "And if circumstances were different…I mean, I don't like you any less because you're a vampire, but…"

"But a future couldn't work out," she said.

"No," I agreed. "I mean, I don't want to say you're condemned to an eternity of loneliness, but it's just that…there are too many problems that could arise from…from us taking this to a certain extent."

"Yeah. We may feel a certain way, but pursuing those feelings would only end up badly for both of us."

"Right, yeah." I looked at her earnestly. "I really don't want to stop being friends, though. But, you know, I think that should be it."

"Absolutely."

"Okay, then. We'll keep being friends."

"Sure." She smiled slightly, and I felt a small pang for taking the path I had chosen.

I exhaled. "Well, what do you want to do tonight, then? I've got a few board games that we haven't gotten to."

* * *

We spent the evening playing Scrabble, and then read a few more chapters from _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_. We were nearing the end, but hadn't quite gotten there by the time I had to go to bed. We said our good nights, and I went to my room and to bed.

But I couldn't sleep. This evening, spending the time with her that I had, made a part of me yearn for a closer relationship with her. I kept trying to tell it that it would be foolish to pursue such a thing, but it wouldn't shut up, and kept me awake.

Finally, I got up, and went to the living room, where Kairi was sitting silently. She looked up as I entered. "What's the matter? Can't sleep?"

I suddenly felt that it would be nice to have her to turn to every night with my problems. Pushing the thought aside, I sat down. "No, I can't."

"What's the matter?" she asked, turning to me.

"It's just…" I sighed. "I have to be completely honest with you."

"Yeah, go ahead."

"I just…feel like the decision I made wasn't right," I said. "I know it was, but…there's this little part of my mind that won't shut up."

"I know how you feel," she said. "I've got the same problem."

She did? _Would_ it be worth it, after all? No, no, no. I had to keep telling myself that. "Right. I really enjoyed spending time with you this evening, and…I sometimes wonder…but I can't…we can't go through with it. But I…I kind of wish we could."

"But we can't," she said. "It's how it is, and there's no use fighting it, because it's reality."

"Yes, but…but how do I convince myself of that?"

She reached over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Sora, listen to me," she said. "You do not have to feel this way. You are a young man, and I will live forever. This isn't our only opportunity. And you know that if we tried it, it would end badly. Our ways of life—and our lives—are too different. This isn't a story where everything will work out. We have to make the right choices, and staying friends is the right choice."

I nodded slowly, looking at her. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

Then, I leaned in and kissed her.

It went against everything we had said, and everything that we knew was logical. It was a foolish action that did not have a good end in sight. It might even make others question my sanity.

But it was what my feelings told me to do. And I did it.

I met no resistance from Kairi; I guess she felt the same way I did. Or rather, I know she did.

After a moment, we broke apart, and it took us another moment to realize what we had just done. "That…wasn't what we agreed to do," said Kairi, looking a little stunned.

I shook my head. "No." And I kissed her again, leaping with joy internally. Sure, it might result in future problems, but screw the future. This was the present. And if I wanted to enjoy the present as much as I could, this was what I should do.

I moved onto the couch with her, and we curled up together. It gave me a sense of security, being with someone at night. Someone who I could share my joys and concerns with. Someone to keep me safe, and that I could keep safe.

Someone to love.

* * *

Many miles away, a man sat in his chair, facing a computer, gritting his teeth. The slippery bastard had gotten away again, and now he was back to square one, waiting for his allies and helpers to find something. He hated waiting, but, unfortunately, there was little more that he could do. His specialties lay in…other areas, outside of searching and locating. Once they found his target, he would do the rest.

But he had been waiting for several days now. He had hoped that some of the others would have picked up a trail, but their target was elusive, as well as dangerous. But he would persist. He would follow this son of a bitch to the ends of the earth and back if he had to.

Suddenly, his computer pinged, and a new email appeared in his Inbox. He perked up. It was from one of his helpers. He clicked on it, and it opened to reveal a message and a few attached files.

_Got something from NYC. Might be him. –T_

He opened one of the files, and saw an image featuring a tan-skinned, silver-haired man being escorted out of what looked like a courthouse. Scanning the picture thoroughly, he looked for his target. There were a lot of people in the background, so he might be hard to spot. If, in fact, he was there…

There. Right there. Upper-right corner. Could that be him? It was hard to tell for certain, but it did look like him.

Heart pounding, the man opened the other files to find other shots of the same scene, some from different angles. All featured the figure that resembled his target. He stared intently at them all, trying to match them to the face that was burned into his mind. By the time he had looked through them all, he was almost certain. The resemblance was too similar. Sure, it _might_ be someone who looked just like him, but that was unlikely; his target had a rather unique look.

Well, then, time for a trip to New York City. He quickly replied to the email, telling his helper that it looked like a positive identification, and that he was going to the city. Then, he picked up his phone. He had a flight to book.

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**Well, I finally got them together. (Took me long enough...)**

**As you might expect, now, the Sora-Kairi interactions are going to be more romance-oriented. There aren't a whole lot left, though; I currently have only six or seven more chapters planned for this story. And then there's the mysterious man who's looking for someone...**

**Hope you liked this bit! Let me know!**


	16. A Looming Threat

**All right, I've managed to find some more time in my schedule to put up a new chapter. Enjoy!**

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I woke up the next morning with a sense of serenity that I didn't remember having for a long time. I was still on the couch; I had been so comfortable cuddling with Kairi that I hadn't wanted to return to my bed, so we had just pulled a blanket over ourselves and spent the night there.

I couldn't help but smile as I felt her next to me, breathing slowly. She must have had fallen asleep sometime last night. What I had done—what we had done, affirming our feelings for each other—had made me happier than I had been in a while. I think I finally got what Donald had meant about having a girlfriend; it was worth all the hardships that it might put you through.

I blinked as another sound registered, faint but there, and rather repetitive, too…

Oh, damn. That was my alarm clock. What time was it? Trying not to wake Kairi, I stretched my neck to look at the small digital clock I had in the room. It read eight-thirty-eight.

I started and began to rise; I was late. As I did, however, Kairi stirred, and opened her eyes. "Sorry," I said. "Didn't mean to wake you."

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Don't worry about it. I can always get some more sleep later today."

The sight of her kept me from getting up for another minute. Who would have thought that I'd be here, curled up next to a vampire who had, three and a half weeks ago, tried to kill me? But we had come a long way, and had developed a deep connection that had, eventually, brought us to this place.

She opened her eyes and smiled at me. "You look happy."

"That's because I am." I kissed her again; it was something I felt that I could never get tired of.

"You certainly seem sure that you want to do this," she commented when I pulled away.

"Are you not?"

"No, but it goes against everything you were saying last night."

"You, too, as I recall." I grinned. "But I decided to ignore the future and focus on the present. And this is what makes me happiest right now."

She smiled. "Me, too."

* * *

Eventually, I got up, though it did take some willpower. I went to my room and shut off my alarm, then jumped in the shower, threw on some clothes, and toasted a piece of bread to eat on the way to work. "Almost wish I didn't have to go," I said.

Kairi shrugged. "You do what you have to." A thought struck her. "Are you going to tell Donald and Goofy about…this?"

I hadn't thought about that. "Would you like me to?"

"Well, I'm not sure how they would take it."

"Yeah, I'm still figuring that out for myself."

She grinned. "But, they're your friends. If you feel like you should tell them, go ahead."

"Well, my feelings have done well for me so far."

I checked my phone and found two text messages and a missed call from Donald. "Oh, shoot, they're probably wondering where I am."

I called him back, which he answered rather quickly. "Sora, you're alive," he said dryly.

"Yeah, sorry. I slept in a bit."

"Slept in? That's a little out of character for you, isn't it?"

"Well…" I glanced at Kairi. "There were special circumstances."

"What? What circumstances?"

"I'll tell you when I get there."

I heard him growl lightly. "Damn it, Sora, you have to keep us in suspense, don't you?"

I chuckled. "Patience, my fine friend."

"Patience, shmatience. Get over here quickly." He hung up.

As I put down my phone, I thought of something funny. I had often teased him about reading vampire romance stories, but now, I was in one. Oh, the irony.

My toast popped up, and I grabbed it and buttered it. "Okay, gotta go. See you this afternoon."

She smiled. "Yep."

* * *

I arrived at my office feeling almost as lighthearted as I had felt upon waking up this morning. "Morning, guys," I said cheerfully as I walked in.

They turned to me. "Good morning, Sora," said Goofy.

"Yes, good morning," said Donald. "So, what were these mysterious circumstances that made you sleep in today?"

"Well…" I went over to my desk and put my things down. "You remember when I told you that I had a vampire tied up in my apartment?"

"Yeah…" said Donald. "And we've met her. What of it?"

"Well, this news is almost as big."

Donald raised his eyebrows. "What is it?"

I paused. "Well…I may be in love with her."

The pair of them stared at me for a moment. "You what?" said Donald.

"You heard me."

"You're in love with a vampire. _The_ vampire. Kairi."

"Seems like it."

Goofy chuckled. "Like one of Donald's stories."

"Precisely."

Donald turned to him. "You're making jokes? Goofy, this is huge."

"Well, Sora seems to be happy." He smiled at me. "And I'm happy for him."

"But…how is this going to work out?" Donald frowned at me. "Does she feel the same about you?"

I nodded. "She does."

"How do you know?"

"Well, we did spend the night together."

His mouth fell open. "You _what?_"

"Not like that," I said. "We slept together on the couch."

"You slept together?"

"In a strictly literal sense, yes."

He scowled at me. "Damn it, Sora, do you have to mess with me every time you tell us something big about this vampire?"

I shrugged. "No, but it's an added bonus when I can."

"So, you slept in because you slept on the couch?" said Goofy.

"Yeah."

"Wait," said Donald, holding up a hand. "So, what exactly happened?"

So I told them everything, how Kairi had been mad at me for distrusting her the night we found Xemnas, how I had apologized and tried to make it up the following morning, and how it had led to our almost-kiss. "Then we were interrupted, by you texting me," I said pointedly to Donald.

"Sorry. Didn't know you were about to kiss your vampire captive."

"Wait, so this happened yesterday?" said Goofy.

"Uh-huh."

"But you didn't tell us."

"Oh, sorry," I said. "I had resolved to not let it get any further, and I didn't want to trouble you guys with the unnecessary information."

"Trouble us?" said Goofy. "Sora, your troubles are our troubles."

"Yeah, I know." I sighed. "I guess I didn't want to dwell on it, and telling you guys would have been dwelling on it."

"But you ended up dwelling on it, it looks like," said Donald.

I nodded, and continued my story, telling them how I had talked to Kairi that afternoon, and how we had agreed that a relationship would not be a smart idea. Then, how we had played Scrabble and read Harry Potter, and how I had enjoyed it so much that it made me question the sagacity of my decision, and unable to sleep. I told them how, in the night, I had gotten up and gone to Kairi, to try to get her to help convince myself, but how, eventually, I had given in to my feelings, and she to hers. "So, here we are," I concluded. "We're not sure what we're going to do, but we don't really care at the moment."

"Ah, young love," said Goofy, teasingly.

"But…won't it end up being a problem eventually?" said Donald, still looking confused.

I shrugged. "It might. But for now, I'm focused on just enjoying the present, instead of worrying about the future."

Donald opened his mouth, then closed it and sighed. "Well, if you're this certain…"

"Looks like it," said Goofy. "And you know how stubborn Sora can be."

Donald nodded. "And this might not be what I meant when I suggested you get a girlfriend, Sora…but it looks like it's working out nevertheless."

"Yeah, I hope you two keep getting along," said Goofy.

I smiled. "Thanks for the support, guys."

* * *

Not too long afterwards, I got a call from Lea. "Sora, did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

"Xemnas. He's disappeared. Never got home after he was released."

"Really?" I said, trying to sound surprised.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, we've got to look into it, and guess who was assigned to that oh-so-desirable task?"

"You?"

"Right on." He sighed. "Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?"

"What do you think happened to him?" I probed.

"I couldn't say. I'm surprised, actually; we had anticipated this, and provided a fair amount of security for him. Anyone who could get past that would have to be pretty talented."

"Could he have gone off on his own?"

"Where? And why wouldn't he have returned to his house? It's a mystery, but…" He lowered his voice. "I mean, if we can't do anything about it, then we can't do anything about it. We'll try, but there's no guarantee of success."

I felt myself relax a little. So, it didn't seem like the police were going to throw all their efforts into finding him, and they might not find out what had actually happened. "Well, with any luck, he won't turn up again," I said, also in a bit of an undertone.

"Perhaps. Then maybe his kids will be put in a better home."

"That'd be nice."

"No kidding." He sighed. "Well, I have to go back to work. Gotta keep up appearances, you know."

"Yep. Hope it goes well. Or rather, not."

He chuckled. "Right. See ya."

"Bye."

As I hung up, Donald asked, "What was that?"

"Lea. The police have noticed Xemnas's disappearance, and are looking into it."

Donald looked worried. "Do you think they'll find out what happened?"

"I hope not. Fortunately, Lea didn't seem to think that they'd be putting a huge amount of effort into it."

"But…" Donald lowered his voice, "did we cover our tracks well enough? Should we make sure there wasn't anything we missed?"

"Like what?" I asked. "I don't see why there would be fingerprints or anything on Xemnas that they could use to identify us."

"What about hair?"

"He'll be in a dumpster. I doubt our hair, if it did get on him, is the only hair that will be there."

"You don't think we should return and check?"

I thought for a second, then said, "No. The less association we have with that place, the better. I'm confident that we'll be fine."

* * *

That afternoon, though, I had another encounter with the police. When I returned to my apartment, I found a couple of police officers in my hallway. "What's going on?" I asked, terrified that they had found Kairi.

One of the officers turned to me, and I recognized him as Isa, the officer who had been with Lea at Donald's house. Given the darkening of his expression, I guessed that he recognized me, too. "A man who lives here has gone missing," he said. "We're looking around for anything that might help our investigation." He took a step towards me. "Maybe you'll do."

I frowned. Someone who lived on my floor was missing?

Isa took out a notebook and pen and looked at me. "First off, could I have your full name?"

"Sora Parker."

He wrote it down. "Where do you live?"

"Here. Apartment 8H."

"Mm-hm. Do you know Will Turner or Elizabeth Swann?"

The names sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place them. "I don't believe so."

He raised an eyebrow. "They only live in apartment 8C. You're not too far away."

Oh…was that the young man who had moved in with his girlfriend recently? I _had_ met them…once. "Oh, I might know them. I think I've met them only once, though."

"Oh, have you? So you didn't know them very well."

"No."

He took down some more notes. "Where were you two nights ago?"

What? Did he suspect me? I was taken aback before realizing that police officers questioned and suspected everyone in the early stages of an investigation. "In my apartment."

"Can anyone verify that?"

_Kairi can._ "No."

He wrote something else. "Have you noticed or heard anything strange in the past couple of days, Mr. Parker?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Hm." He narrowed his eyes in thought, seeming to decide whether or not he wanted to ask me something else. "Do you have any idea where Mr. Turner might be, if not at his home, at work, or traveling?"

"No, I don't."

He raised his eyebrows, a slightly smug look on his face. "No? But are you not an investigator yourself?"

"I am, but I'm not involved in this case, and I don't keep tabs on all of my neighbors," I replied.

"But is the pursuit of knowledge not the main goal in your career?"

"I could say the same thing about you."

His expression quickly soured. "My job is none of your business."

"Then we can agree that that is mutual." I was beginning to not like this guy.

"I am a police officer, Mr. Parker. If I ask you something, it is your civic duty to answer, and aid my investigation." He kept his pen and notebook raised. "Now, would you please go over the events of the past two days for me, starting with the night of the third?"

I glowered at him. Not only did I not appreciate his intrusiveness, but this was putting me in a bit of a bad spot, since I had to conceal the both the vampire in my apartment and the death of Xemnas. Fortunately, however, I had had plenty of experience in omitting and bending the truth, and so I was able to weave a convincing story for him.

Of course, the bastard insisted on questioning me about nearly every other aspect of my life, and I was only given a reprieve when the other officer in the hallway told him that he had questioned me enough, and should get back to being helpful. And so, with a scowl, Isa released me, and I went to my apartment, mentally vowing to avoid him as much as possible from then on.

But I brightened as I came in and saw Kairi, reading _Great Expectations_ on the couch. "Hi," I said cheerfully as I came in.

She looked up and smiled broadly back at me. "Hi."

She got up and I kissed her. "Anything interesting happen today?" she asked.

"Well, Lea called and—"

"Lea?"

"A good friend of mine. He's a police officer."

"Oh, okay. What'd he say?"

"They've noticed Xemnas's disappearance and are looking into it."

A concerned look spread over her face. "That's not good. Do you think they'll find him?"

"I'm hoping they won't," I said, "but, then again, a dumpster isn't the best place to hide a body. But even if they do find him, I can't see how they'll be able to connect it to us."

"I hope not."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "It'll be fine, don't worry."

* * *

We spent the evening together, not needing to do much other than enjoy each other's company. (I did have to eat, though, but I made that a quick affair.) I hadn't realized how nice the feeling of intimacy was with someone that you could draw close and just be together with. Unfortunately, I was interrupted, by the ringing of my phone. "It's Riku," I said, after pulling away from Kairi and checking it.

"What does he want?"

"Let's find out." I answered the call. "Hey, Riku."

"Sora, how's it going?"

"Quite well, actually." I hadn't told him about my new relationship with Kairi, and was debating whether to do so now or not. On the one hand, he was the most averse of my friends to developing a close relationship of any sort with her. On the other hand, he was my best friend, and I was talking to him right now.

"Good to hear," he said before I could finalize a decision. "I'm calling with some news."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I've taken a case, a pretty big one, that requires me to go to England. I'm leaving tomorrow and I'll be gone for a couple of weeks."

"Oh. That's great! That is, that you've got a big case."

"Yeah, and going to England isn't such a bad thing, either. But in my absence, I've decided to give you all of my cases. So if someone wants to come to me, they'll have to deal with you for the time being."

I blinked. "Really? Wow, thanks, Riku. Business has been pretty slow lately, so I could use the extra work." Although, would extra work mean less time with Kairi?

"Glad to hear it. Some people might just wait until I come back, but I'm sure you'll get some of my clients. You may have to turn some of them down, too, if you get too many and can't work on them all at once."

"Gotcha."

By then, I had decided not to tell him about Kairi and me; the news would only distract him, and with a big case coming up, I didn't want to give him any distractions.

"I'll be reachable by email or phone if you need to contact me," he went on. "But don't expect me to respond right away."

"Yeah, okay."

"All right? Well, I need to prepare, so best of luck with everything, and stay safe."

"You too."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye."

I hung up and turned to Kairi. "Riku's leaving for England tomorrow, and he's giving his cases—"

"To you, I heard," she said.

"You did?"

She grinned and pointed to her ears. "Vampire hearing. A bit better than human hearing."

"So it is. Well, I might be a bit busier these next couple of weeks, then. Hopefully we'll still get to spend time together, but it just might not be as much."

"Uh-huh."

"So, sorry about that. But I do need more business; it's been pretty slow lately."

"Right." She put her head on my shoulder. "Well, we'll just need to make up for any future time lost together now."

I smiled. "That we will."

* * *

Having fond memories of the night before, I decided to sleep on the couch with Kairi again that night. So, after finishing _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ (and taking a moment to absorb the monumental events that happened at the end), we curled up together and fell asleep. At least, I did; I'm not sure if Kairi needed any more sleep that night.

But as I slept, the most unexpected thing happened: the nightmare returned. The one where I was in a dungeon, faced with corpses and a hooded figure that had turned out to be Kairi. I recognized it as soon as I found myself in the familiar setting. But why was I having the nightmare again? What reason did I have to fear Kairi? I trusted her entirely by this point, and wouldn't think of considering her as a dangerous creature again.

And yet, I was still afraid. But what of?

As I tried to answer this question, Kairi turned around and lowered her hood. "I never asked for this," she said, speaking for the first time in my dream.

"I know," I responded.

But something wasn't quite right; she was not looking at me, but at a point behind me. Frowning, I turned around…and there was an immense shadow. It seemed to have a human form, but only loosely so. Its size was so great that it filled the entire space behind me.

And in its head were two bright, glowing red eyes.

* * *

I jerked awake, and felt Kairi's gentle arms around me. "Sora?" she said, looking at me. "What's the matter?"

I looked at her. Was she in danger from some unforeseen dark force? Was I? What did my dream mean? "Just…just a nightmare," I said.

"Haven't had one of those in a while." She shifted slightly, and her hold around me became more firm. "It's all right, Sora. Your dream's over. There's just you and me, and you should get back to sleep."

Gradually, I managed to slow my breathing. "Yeah…" She was right. The nightmare was probably a manifestation of some deep-seated fear that would probably never come to pass. I was safe here, in her arms.

Such thoughts comforted me as I drifted back off to sleep.

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**Hm...not everything is well here. Something else is threatening Sora and Kairi's happiness...but what? Review with your thoughts and speculations!**


	17. The Other Hunter

**Hey, guys! Really sorry for the delay in updating; things have been busy. But they're winding down now, so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to have more frequent updates.**

**As things are right now, this story is looking to be 22 chapters total. So we're getting near the end...**

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With Riku's cases to keep us occupied, Donald, Goofy, and I became much busier over the next couple of days. It was time-consuming, but, as Donald said, it brought in the money. So we contented ourselves with them, and threw all of our efforts behind getting them resolved. Granted, they weren't quite what we were mostly used to, but we had taken a fair number of normal cases before, so we knew what we were doing. And, every night, I was able to return home to Kairi, who always made my day better.

However, the day after Riku's call, Xemnas's body was discovered in the dumpster. Lea, of course, had a good deal to say on the subject. "So, he was murdered," he said during another phone conversation.

"I don't suppose you've ruled out suicide?" I suggested. "Maybe he realized what he had done and stabbed himself."

"With what? There was no weapon on the scene. Besides, how would his body have gotten into the dumpster? And given the number of people with a grudge against him, it isn't hard to believe that one of them carried it out. No, we're treating this as a homicide."

"How much progress have you made?"

He sighed. "Not much. There isn't a whole lot we can do here. There's a huge list of suspects, and nothing that we've found on the scene points to anyone in particular."

I tried to keep the relief out of my tone. "Do you think you'll be able to find the guy who did it?"

"Honestly? I doubt it. There aren't many people here who really want to punish his killer—though none of us condone murder—and we don't have much to go off of. We'll try, certainly, but there's only so much we can do."

"Right. Well, I hope things turn out best for everyone."

"You and me both."

"Speaking of which, how are his kids holding up?"

"Not terribly, as far as I know. They'll be put into a foster home, and with the amount of attention that they've gotten, it'll probably be a good one."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah. Oh, by the way, I heard that you gave Isa a bit of a hard time yesterday?"

I scowled. "More like the other way around. He was being rather…forgive me, but intrusive with his questioning."

"Was he? That doesn't seem like him."

"Could he still be mad about that time at Donald's?"

"Oh, I guess. Well, I'll talk to him about it."

"Good. How's his case coming along?"

"The disappearance of Will Turner? He doesn't have much to go on, either—though probably more than me. Turner was supposed to return from a trip on the third, but didn't show up. His girlfriend thought his flight had been delayed, or something, but when he didn't show up for another day, she got worried and called it in. His doorman saw him go in that night, but he never got to his apartment."

I frowned. "Then whatever happened to him happened inside the building?"

"Looks like it. Be careful, Sora. If there's someone dangerous hanging out there, you need to be on your guard."

"Right. I'll keep an eye out."

"Good. Well, I have to go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

As I hung up, I thought about the Turner case. What had happened to Will Turner? If what Lea told me was accurate—and I had no reason to believe otherwise—then he would have disappeared soon after the Xemnas affair, possibly right outside my apartment. What had happened? Had someone done something to him? Had he left of his own accord?

Well, I had my own cases to pursue. The police would have to deal with that one.

* * *

And pursue them I did. I enjoyed the two cases that we were dealing with, though they both required a good deal of effort and concentration. But the day after Xemnas's body was found, we had completed one of them, and were nearly done with the other. The next day, a Sunday, we managed to resolve the other (not wanting to put it off just because of the day of the week).

On Monday, we went out for lunch, to a small outdoor café a couple of minutes from the office. "I gotta say," said Goofy, "this is working out pretty well."

"Yeah, no kidding," agreed Donald. "Not only are we getting a lot of business, but we're getting our names out there, too." He grinned. "Maybe some day, we'll be as popular as Riku."

"Wouldn't that be nice," I said. "Of course, then the majority of our cases wouldn't be as interesting."

"No," said Donald. "But, sometimes it's nice to take a break from werewolves, spirits, and vampires."

"True," I agreed. "Though aside from Kairi, I can't remember the last time we took on a vampire…"

"You can't?" asked Donald. "Come on, Sora. It was that fat vampire trying to hypnotize a guy so that he would like her." He thought. "Though I seem to have forgotten their names…"

"That was Ursula, wasn't it?" said Goofy. "Ursula Pieuvre. And she was hypnotizing Eric Seiler."

I nodded. "Right…and we were hired by Sebastian Crabbs, because his friend, Ariel Fishman, had been dating Eric for a while, but then he suddenly went for Ursula." I grinned. "Good times."

"Aside from almost being hypnotized and killed ourselves, yes," said Donald.

"Oh, you have to put a damper on everything, don't you?" I said teasingly. "Come on, remember how exciting it was?"

He admitted to that.

* * *

We finished our lunch, then headed back to the office. As we did, I noticed something. "Hey," I said in an undertone, "do you guys notice the blond guy behind us? Messy hair, tall, pretty muscular, wearing a black t-shirt and black jeans, with a Bluetooth earpiece in his right ear?"

Surreptitiously, the other two looked behind us. "Yeah," said Donald.

"I think he's been following us ever since we left the café," I said. "He got up with us, too."

Donald frowned. "What do you think he wants with us?"

"I don't know."

We continued on our route, occasionally checking to see if the blond man was still behind us. He always was. When we got to the building where our office was located, he followed us in. "Think he'll follow us to the elevator?" asked Donald.

"Only one way to find out," I responded.

We hit the button for the elevator, and the doors slid open. We stepped in, along with a couple of others…and the man followed us. "What floor?" I asked, before pushing our own button—if he really was purposefully tailing us, he would go to the same floor we did, but if I didn't push our button, he would have no way of knowing.

He quickly glanced at the buttons. "Twenty-second."

Damn. The top floor. Now we would have to get out before he did, and he would know which floor we were on. And there weren't a whole lot of people who worked on the thirteenth floor…

I pressed the button for the twenty-second floor, then thought of something, and pressed the button for the _fifteenth_ floor instead of the thirteenth. Now, we would throw him off.

The elevator rose, dropped off a man at the eighth floor, went up again, and came to the fifteenth. As the doors slid open, we got out, and walked quickly away from the elevator as the doors slid shut, and the strange man went out of view. "Good thinking, Sora," said Goofy, once the elevator had started moving again.

"Thanks. Now let's get down to our office so he won't be able to find us."

We made our way to the stairwell, descended the two flights of stairs, and made a beeline for our office. "Why would he have been following us, though?" said Donald.

"No idea," I said. "But let's hope he doesn't show up again."

"And if he does?"

"Then we'll try to find out what he wants."

We entered our office, and had just sat down and began work when there was a knock on our door. "Come in," I called.

The door opened…and in stepped the blond man.

I forgot to conceal my surprise, as did my companions.

"Not too bad," said the man. "Asking me what floor I wanted, then getting out two floors up from your real destination." He tapped his earpiece. "But I've got all the information on you, Sora Parker." He frowned. "Or, at least, what's on record."

I stood up. "Who are you? And what do you want with me?"

He closed the door. "I am interested in why you and your companions were discussing vampires at lunch today."

I blinked. "So, you've been eavesdropping on us, too?"

"By accident," he said. "I heard one of you mention vampires, and I started tuning in."

I frowned. "What's your interest in vampires?"

"What's yours? I believe you were talking about past experiences with them, were you not?"

I had no idea who this guy was, or why he was so keen on the idea of vampires. "We might have been."

The man frowned. "Hmph. Insistent upon being vague, are you? Well, I know what you said, anyways." He took a step closer to me. "So, let me tell you this. I know vampires exist. I know what they can do. I know what their strengths are. I know what their weaknesses are. I have studied them for years. And I believe you know a thing or two about them, too."

He knew about vampires? Wait…he could be baiting us. "Oh?" I said. "Then what can they do, and what are their strengths and weaknesses?"

His mouth thinned. "You insist upon making absolutely sure, don't you? Fine. Regular ones can hypnotize people, and can hide in sunlight, which reduces their vampiric powers and makes them look human. They have heightened senses, and can't be killed as easily as a human. They are weak to silver and fire." He paused. "Good enough?"

It was. Though there were many representations of vampires in fiction, some that probably had those characteristics, the ones that he named matched exactly those of actual vampires. Unless he was guessing, and I didn't think he was, this guy was familiar with them, all right.

"Okay," I said. "You've convinced me. And, yes, I know a few things about vampires, as well. But who are you that knows this, and why did you come to me?"

The man reached into his coat pocket. "My name is Cloud Strife," he said. "I'm a vampire hunter."

A vampire hunter? What did he want? It didn't have anything to do with Kairi, did it?

"I'm on the trail of one particular vampire right now," he continued, pulling out a picture. "Looks something like this."

He showed me the picture, and I was relieved to see that it didn't resemble Kairi in the slightest. It was a tall, well-built man, rather handsome, with long silver hair, even longer than Xemnas's. "Who is he?" I asked.

"His name's Sephiroth. He's a monster, exceptionally dangerous. He's taken more lives than I can count." His face soured. "Of course, he's been around for centuries, so he's had plenty of time to do so."

"Centuries?"

Strife nodded. "He's an old and powerful vampire. A special kind, in fact."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"There are multiple names for it, but I believe the most common is vampiraga."

_Vampiraga_. "This Sephiroth guy is a perfect vampire?" I said.

He nodded gravely. "That's why he's so dangerous. I've been on his trail for years, but he's always managed to evade me." His face darkened. "Sometimes taking important lives in the process."

"And he's in the area?" This was actually scary; a vampiraga was a killing machine (provided that it was evil, though I had never heard of any cases otherwise), nearly unstoppable and exceptionally powerful.

"I believe so." He took out another picture. "This was taken a few days ago, in the area."

It was a picture of Xemnas, being led out of the courthouse, escorted by a couple of police officers. In the background was a multitude of people, with one face circled that resembled the image of Sephiroth. "Are you sure that's him?" I said.

"Nearly certain. I don't know who else it could be." He frowned. "When I learned some more about this picture and heard that the man in it had disappeared, I immediately assumed Sephiroth was responsible. But then he turned up in a dumpster, dead of a stab wound. That's not Sephiroth's style. If Sephiroth had killed him, he would have disposed of the body in a much more thorough manner, and would have drained all of his blood, first. He wouldn't have resorted to something as crude as a knife.

"But just because he didn't kill that one man doesn't mean he's not here, and still killing. I need to find him, and when I do, I'll take care of him once and for all."

I still wasn't sure what this had to do with me. "So, why are you telling us all of this?"

He looked at me oddly, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "Don't you want to help me hunt him down? He must be stopped! Surely you know that."

"Yeah, sure," I said, "but I do have work I need to deal with…"

His frown deepened. "I thought this was your work. Do you not hunt down these creatures and put an end to them?"

"Sometimes," I said. "But I'm an investigator. I take cases that often involve supernatural creatures, and I deal with them as necessary."

"You deal with them as necessary? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, sometimes it involves killing them, but I do keep my eyes out for a way around that."

His incredulous look did not falter. "You don't always kill them? Why not?"

"Why should I?"

"Because they are unnatural abominations and must be eliminated."

My expression hardened. "That's a rather bigoted thing to say."

"Are you suggesting it's not true?"

"I am, indeed. You can't just kill creatures because of what they are. That's genocide."

"No, it's protecting the human race. They're dangerous, and—"

"What if not all of them are? I've dealt with a few creatures that ended up turning out pretty well." Naturally, Kairi was at the front of my mind.

"Then you are soft-hearted, and it's a wonder you're still alive."

I glowered at him. "I don't let petty emotions get in the way of my thinking."

"Petty emotions?" He looked livid. "You think my emotions are petty?" His voice rose. "I have lost friends and family to these goddamned creatures! You expect me to forget that?"

I sympathized with him, but I also knew that that didn't mean that he had to be so closed-minded. "I'm sorry about that," I said, "but I lost my parents to supernatural creatures, too, and…"

I broke off. Maybe that wasn't such a good counterexample.

"And what?" said Strife.

"And…I don't view all supernatural creatures as killing machines."

He was silent for a moment. "What kind of creatures killed your parents?"

"Harpies."

"And what do you think about harpies?"

"They're violent, unstable creatures who should be avoided. But—"

"You see? I feel that way about vampires, except that they should be eliminated, not just avoided."

"But harpies' personalities are innately violent."

"So are vampires'."

"Not necessarily. A vampire was once a human. It can retain its human emotions."

Strife shook his head. "Not for long."

"So, then, a new vampire might not be all that bad."

His eyes narrowed. "Maybe. But that's not the point."

"Isn't it? You've just agreed that I don't always need to kill these creatures in order to resolve my problems with them."

"I have said no such thing. A new vampire may not be a menace, but given time, it will grow into one. It is best to deal with it before that becomes the case."

He was pissing me off with his implications about Kairi. "Then we strongly disagree on that point."

"Oh? What's the best way to deal with it, then? It will be forced to live off of blood, away from humans. Eventually, it will grow apart from humans, and see them as sustenance. And then, it will begin feeding on them."

"What if you managed to make friends with a vampire?"

He scowled. "Don't be stupid."

"I'm not."

"You can't be friends with a vampire."

"Why not?"

"They cannot be tamed."

"They're not wild animals."

"They're as good as."

I frowned. "Are you basing this off of fact, or opinion? Because it sounds like you're just unwilling to accept a possibility that runs contradictory to your limited viewpoint."

Strife said nothing for a moment, then grabbed the pictures he had shown me. "I can see that I'm getting nowhere with you. If you're content to let this monster roam free, then be my guest. But _I'm_ going to take care of him." He started out.

"Wait!" It was Goofy, who hadn't spoke since Strife had entered. "Sora's not saying that he doesn't want to help you."

_I'm considering saying that, actually,_ I thought.

"We want to help stop this guy, if he's dangerous. We may have differing views, but we do both want to preserve human life. Does that still mean that we can't work together?"

Strife paused. After a moment of thought, he turned around, facing Goofy. "You would be willing to help me?"

"Sure." He turned to me and Donald. "We can do that, can't we, guys?"

I glanced at Donald, who nodded hesitantly; he knew what a vampiraga could do, and didn't want one running around any more than I did. I sighed. Strife may be disagreeable, but it did sound as though his cause was important. "Fine," I said. "Goofy's right; I do want this vampiraga taken care of. We'll just limit our collaboration to this case."

He considered my offer, then nodded. "Very well."

* * *

We spent the rest of the day discussing the situation and how we would go about dealing with it. Strife—or Cloud, as we came to know him—had some other people searching for Sephiroth, but with little success; New York was too big of a place to find anyone easily. Essentially, at the moment, all we could do was keep an eye out, and if we found Sephiroth, tail him…but very discreetly. If he found out he was being followed, he could easily kill us.

Extreme caution was something that Cloud continually pressed. I felt my heartbeat rise as, stone-faced, he described everything Sephiroth had done that he knew of, including killing his girlfriend, Aerith. I had never taken on anything like a perfect vampire before, and it would, undoubtedly, be the most dangerous experience I had ever had.

But one was in New York City. And I became determined to stop him.

Afternoon passed into evening, but we still continued to go over tactics to dealing with Sephiroth, including just surviving him, in the case of an encounter. After a while, though, the three of us expressed a desire to return to our homes, and Cloud agreed, though he said that we would continue where we left off the next day.

As I returned home, my thoughts went back to my argument with Cloud about closed-mindedness. Sure, I still didn't approve of his, but…was his situation similar to mine? Was I prejudged against harpies? After all, the last time I had come into contact with them…

My thoughts persisted up through my arrival at my apartment, so when I returned, Kairi noticed. "What's wrong?" she asked after I sat down with her on the couch. "You look troubled."

I sighed and told her about Cloud, how he had followed us to our office and wanted us to help him deal with Sephiroth. At the mention of a perfect vampire, she, too, became worried. "I hope he's not nearby," she said.

"So do I. But New York is a big place. The odds of him residing in the area are pretty slim."

"Let's hope so."

After that, I continued my story, telling her of my argument with Cloud over how to treat vampires. She was glad that I had stuck up for her, but, as expected, was upset with how Cloud saw her. "He's just one person who thinks like that," I said, trying to reassure her.

"But there are more. And you're working with one of them."

"Only for a little bit, and only out of necessity." I put an arm around her. "Don't worry about what other people think. I think you're great."

"Of course you do." She smiled. "But thanks anyways."

After exchanging another kiss, she asked, "So, it's the argument that got you upset?"

"Well…" I sighed. "Partly."

"What else?"

"He asked how I felt about harpies, trying to draw a connection between my feelings about the creatures that killed my parents and his feelings about the creatures that killed his loved ones."

"What did you say?"

"I said that I thought they were violent and unstable." I bit my lip. "What if I _do_ view them like he views vampires? If I met a harpy on the street—hypothetically—would I be able to restrain myself?"

"You're not like him, Sora," said Kairi emphatically. "You're an extremely nice person, and very considerate."

"Thanks, but…" I paused. "I never told you what happened with the harpies that killed my parents."

She blinked. "Do you want to?"

I hesitated for a second, then nodded. "You should know."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's a painful memory, but one I might have to face."

"All right, then."

I took a breath and began. "After I had been working here for a couple of years, I got a call from Aqua Taiko, Riku's mom, telling me that his dad had been attacked. By harpies."

Kairi sucked in a breath. "The same ones?"

"There was no way of knowing. But regardless, I left the business to Donald and Goofy for a few days and went to California, with Riku, to see how he was doing.

"He was in the hospital, but conscious and in stable condition. I visited him, and we discussed the attack. He said that he had been investigating one of them, and she had turned the entire flock against him. He had managed to endure their assault; since his offense wasn't too severe, they didn't go all the way and kill him. But he was still scratched up pretty badly.

"I was pretty mad at them, but he warned me again not to go after them with revenge in my heart. Somewhat reluctantly, I didn't." I paused. "That is, until after what happened the next day."

"What was that?"

I hesitated. "The harpies carried off a child."

Kairi raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"I'm not sure why. Probably for food, maybe for other reasons. But a little girl was reported missing, with only some large feathers at the scene. I knew what had happened." My face darkened. "And that was the last straw. I vowed to take care of this harpy problem once and for all.

"I didn't tell anyone; I didn't want to drag them into this. I set off into the nearby hills, looking for their nesting grounds. They actually weren't too hard to find, if you knew what you were looking for. I found them clustered together on the side of a cliff.

"I crept up on them, and saw them doing what looked like feeding. I thought of the missing girl, and wondered if they were eating her. Then…I thought of Naminé, and if they had done the same to her." I paused. "That's when I snapped. I got out my gun and began shooting as many of them as I could. There weren't too many, and by the time they recovered from the suddenness of the attack, there were even fewer. They tried to counterattack, but I had the advantage of range, and mowed them down."

I paused for a moment, breathing heavily. "It was a massacre. I even went through their nests to make sure I hadn't missed any. I found a couple of eggs…and smashed them."

Neither of us said anything. But I managed to continue. "I realized what I had done soon after I returned to the town. I was horrified with myself, and wondered what kind of person could do what I had done.

"Fortunately, Riku found me, in my numb state, and brought me to his dad. I told the both of them what had happened. His dad was disappointed in me, but didn't rebuke me; he could tell that what I was experiencing was punishing enough.

"After that, I thought that I couldn't deal with supernatural creatures anymore. But Riku's dad talked me back into it. He said that everyone made mistakes, and that the best that we could do was learn from them. I had let my emotions get the better of me, but it was a learning experience, and I needed to move forward with the new information." I grinned. "He's a great guy, Terra Taiko."

"So," said Kairi, "you're worried that you killing those harpies had made you closed-minded and prejudiced against them?"

"I'm worried that I haven't been able to get over my hatred for them," I said. "I…I only ever saw them as monsters. But I keep wondering if it would have been possible for, for instance, those eggs to be taken somewhere else, hatched, and raised as nonviolent creatures? Could I have even not killed the harpies, and come to an understanding with them? What could I—"

Kairi brought her mouth to mine, silencing me. "Sora," she said after pulling away, "stop worrying. Riku's dad was absolutely right. You did something bad, but the fact that you realize that it was bad speaks volumes. You have emotions, which everyone does, and you have a conscience, which not everyone does. You may let your emotions get in the way of your judgment, but only for a little bit. You don't persist in it. I think that, if you're having these thoughts and you met a harpy, you wouldn't automatically resort to violence. You'd know what you'd done, and look for a different way to deal with the situation. You're that kind of person, Sora." She smiled. "And even though I haven't known you for too long, I feel like I've gotten to know you well enough to know that."

"You really think so?"

"Of course."

I exhaled. I _did_ feel better. "Thanks, Kairi." I put my head on her shoulder, smiling affectionately. "What would I do without you?"

"You seem to have gotten along well before I came along."

"But that's nothing compared to now." I looked up at her. "I feel so at peace with you around. Like…everything's right. I look forward to seeing you every day, and I think about you all the time. Before, I had friends, but wasn't with them all the time, and I was often alone in my apartment. Now, I have a comforting, intimate companion who's always with me and…whom I love."

She blinked several times. "What?"

I lifted my head and looked at her. "I love you, Kairi."

It was a heavy statement, but it was true. I knew it was. No second-guessing my decision. This was how I felt.

She looked stunned, her mouth hanging open. "Love me?" she repeated.

I nodded. "I do."

Slowly, the words, and their meaning, sunk in, and a smile spread over her face as tears came to her eyes. "Sora…I…I…"

I took her in my arms. "I love you," I repeated.

"And…I love you, too," she sobbed.

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**Hooray for sappy love scenes! (Sorry; I can be a sucker for that sort of thing.) Next chapter won't take as long to post, I promise.**


	18. The Enemy Makes His Move

**(Told you I would update more frequently.)**

**This is a pretty significant chapter, where things really start to pick up, so prepare yourselves...**

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The next day, we met with Cloud again, in our office, and he suggested we spent the day out looking for Sephiroth. "Just looking anywhere?" said Donald.

"We can't do a whole lot," said Cloud. "However, I do have some technicians behind the scenes who will be monitoring whatever they can get their hands on. They will guide us." He handed me an earpiece. "Here. We can split up into two groups. I will search one area, you three another."

I took the earpiece. "Is this for your technicians?"

He nodded. "That earpiece will put you in contact with Yuffie. She's talkative, but she's good at her work. If she finds something, she'll let you know."

I turned the earpiece on and fixed it to my head. "Tifa, he's connected," said Cloud, talking through his own earpiece.

A second later, I heard a voice through mine. "Hello? Hello? This is Ground Control to Major Sora. Do you read me?"

I blinked. "Is this Yuffie?"

"Sure is!" The voice was female, and cheerful-sounding.

"You know my name?"

"Oh, yeah. I did a whole background check on you for Cloud."

I blinked again. "Uh-huh."

"Sorry if that sounded creepy. But, hey, it's what I do."

"Has she gotten down to business yet?" asked Cloud, sounding a little impatient.

"Uh…"

"Hey! I heard that!" came Yuffie's voice.

I flinched. "A little loud, Yuffie."

"Oh. Sorry." Her voice became quieter, and it sounded like she was speaking to someone else in the room with her. "Hey, Tifa, could you tell Cloud to cool down for once in his life?"

After a moment, Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Tifa, tell Yuffie that time is of the utmost essence here, and wasting it could very well mean our downfall."

Another pause. "Tell Cloud that I'm trying to be friendly, and get to know better the people who we'll be working with."

"Tell Yuffie that she can get to know them while we work. We need to get started as soon as possible."

Over my headset, I heard another woman's voice, saying faintly, "How about I tell you both that standing here arguing is wasting more time than we can afford? Now shut up and let's get going."

Cloud nodded. "Right." He turned his attention back to me. "I'll start from here and go north. You, south. If you see anything, tell Yuffie, and she'll get the information to me. If she or Tifa sees anything, they'll tell us. Got it?"

I nodded. "Got it."

"Good. Then let's go."

However, as we had proven when looking for Kairi, indiscriminately searching New York City for a single individual was far from efficient. We spent the entire day going around, and nothing yielded results. That is, concerning Sephiroth. Yuffie, true to Cloud's word, kept up a fairly constant stream of chatter, at least for the first couple of hours. As she explained, she liked knowing things about people, and so I was treated to an inquisition of my likes, dislikes, career, and family. (That last one I didn't share much information about, not considering myself close enough to Yuffie to divulge my private information.) I ended up telling her a modified version of how I got into the business of hunting supernatural creatures, which she seemed to take a fair interest in. She even had me give the earpiece to Donald and Goofy so she could talk to them and learn about them, too.

Around mid-afternoon, though, she began to run out of things to say, as we continued our search with no results. "Still nothing, Yuffie?" I asked as the afternoon began to wane.

"No. I've hacked into people's accounts to see if they've posted any pictures or videos that have him in the background, or something. I've even hacked into a few security cameras around the city, but nothing has picked up any sign of him."

I gritted my teeth. "And there's no way we can do this any easier?"

"We're extremely lucky to have found him when we did, Sora. But we may not be able to pinpoint his exact location. It's happened before."

Great. So there might be a vampiraga in New York City, but we had no idea where he was, or if we would even find him. "But keep your chin up," Yuffie continued. "At least if we don't find him, you guys won't have to have an encounter with a perfect vampire."

I sighed. "But other people will."

She fell silent, the meaning of those words heavy on our mood.

* * *

Eventually after afternoon had transitioned into evening and the sun had nearly sunk, we decided to call it a day. Cloud didn't want to stop, and tried to get us to continue, but the three of us were spent, and, as we argued, wouldn't be very much use against a vampiraga in this state. Finally, he relented, though grudgingly, and told us to be prepared for the same thing the next day.

We made our way back to our homes. I nodded hello to Roxas as I came to my apartment. "Everything holding up okay?" he asked.

I shrugged. "A little tough right now."

"Hm. Well, hope things get better."

"Thanks."

I went in and headed up to my apartment, looking forward to seeing Kairi (I had called the apartment to let her know I would be late) and spending a relaxing evening with her. "Hi," I called as I entered.

"Hi, Sora," she said, walking up to me with a bright smile. "How'd work go today?"

"Tiring," I said. "We looked all over the damn city for that vampire. And we might not even find him."

She put her arms around me. "Well, if you don't find him, then you won't have to face him, right?"

"Yeah…but we won't be able to stop him, either."

"Mm." She kissed me. "That help at all?"

I smiled. "It did."

"How about I help you some more, then?" She kissed me again, but was interrupted by my ringing phone. "Ugh, bad timing," I said, digging it out of my pocket.

"Who is it?" asked Kairi.

I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't recognize the number." I sighed. "It had better not be a solicitor…" I answered. "Hello?"

"Sora?"

I frowned. That voice… "Yuffie?"

"Sora, I found him."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"He was going in to your apartment building."

I froze. "The vampiraga's here?"

"I think so. I found a picture of him online, posted just a second ago. He was talking to your doorman, it looks like."

My blood went cold. "Roxas…"

"Sora, stay calm. Cloud has heard, and he'll be there in a moment."

"I don't have a moment! He could kill Roxas!"

"Sora, don't—"

I hung up and strode towards the door, gripping my gun. "You're going to try and face the vampiraga all alone?" said Kairi incredulously.

"I can't just leave him!" I said. I tossed her my phone. "Here. Call Donald and Goofy and let them know."

"And leave you to do things by yourself?"

"It's too dangerous, and you're not armed."

"Your gun will barely do a thing!"

My face set into a determined expression. "I have to try." And, not wanting to waste any more time on words, I ran out.

* * *

Too impatient to wait for the elevator, I bolted down the stairs, catching the looks of a couple that was climbing them. "Sorry," I said quickly as I descended, not slowing down. As I did so, I became very irritated at my living situation. Why did I have to be all the way on the eighth floor?

Finally, I reached the bottom, and raced out into the lobby, my face turned to the front door. To my horror, Roxas was nowhere to be seen. Nor was anyone else, for that matter. I was just about to run outside, hoping that they hadn't gone too far, when something caught my eye, and I turned sideways to the front desk.

I gasped. Standing behind it, looking directly at me, was Sephiroth.

He was exceptionally intimidating in person. Standing tall, with broad shoulders and chest, he would have been formidable even if he had been just a human. But complementing his figure were his eyes, burning red, and filled with triumph.

For a moment, I stood still, unable to move. _Look away!_ I thought. _He could hypnotize you!_ I regretted for an instant not putting on my contacts, then remembered that they would not protect against the powerful hypnotizing powers of a perfect vampire.

"Well," said Sephiroth, speaking at last, "we meet at last, Sora Parker."

I blinked. "How do you know my name?"

He smiled. "I've been keeping an eye on you for a few days. But, more importantly, your little friend in your apartment."

My heart rose to my mouth. He knew about Kairi? "Wh…what do you want with her?"

"I need to save her."

"Save her?"

He nodded. "From you. You're a self-righteous fool who thinks of himself as a romantic hero, and you think that your relationship with her is going to work out. I am here to bring you back to reality. I will show her that she cannot live with humans. She must embrace her destiny as a creature of the night."

"She has no destiny!" I argued. "She was given her lot unfairly, and she's been struggling with it her whole life!"

"Is that because she doesn't want to be separate from human society? She wants to be accepted?" He glared at me. "Even loved?"

"What's wrong with that?" I demanded.

"She wants to be human. She is not human. She is a vampire, a deadly being of darkness, and she must learn to act like one." He indicated himself. "And I am here to teach her to do so."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that?"

He grinned. "Simple. I am going to wait for her to come down and join you, and then, I will take her away."

I raised my gun at him. "You stay away from her."

He laughed, a cold, hard laugh. "And you honestly think you can stop me? You have no power over me, little human." His smiled broadened. "You all are simply pawns in my game. Even your hunter friend and his technicians."

I froze. "What?"

"That's right, I know about them. I was listening, just this morning, when you met in your office." He smirked. "You were looking for me, but you had no idea how close I really was."

What…? How much had he overheard? "What did you hear?" I asked, thinking of something: if I could stall for time, maybe Cloud could get here, and do something. He was the expert in dealing with vampires, after all.

"A good deal," said Sephiroth. "And I used it to my advantage." He gestured outside of the building. "It was a simple matter of getting someone to take a picture of this building, with me talking to your doorman, and place it online. I knew your technician friends would pick it up fairly quickly." He smiled again, baring his sharp teeth. "And I knew, once you saw the danger your friend was in, that you would come running down to save him, and she would follow."

_Roxas…_ "What have you done with Roxas?" I said.

"With whom?"

"The doorman! Where is he?"

"Oh, yes, him." He glanced at the floor to his left. "He's just taking a little nap."

I followed his gaze, and saw a form slumped against the wall behind the desk. "Roxas!"

Sephiroth snorted. "Don't tell me you think you can wake him up like that. He will not wake unless I tell him to."

I glared at him. "He's served his purpose for you. Now let him go!"

"But why? He is a young, healthy male…" His smile broadened. "Full of blood…"

_No…_ He couldn't kill Roxas. I had to stop him. But, before I could think of anything, I heard footsteps behind me, and "Sora!"

Sephiroth raised his head as I turned. "Kairi! Get out of here!"

"Well, well, well," said Sephiroth, an unmistakable hint of triumph in his voice. "Took you long enough."

Kairi stopped, glaring at him defiantly. "What are you talking about?"

"Why, we've been waiting for you," he said.

"Kairi, run!" I yelled. "He wants to turn you into a killer, like him!"

"I want to help you realize what your true place in life is," said the vampiraga. "And it is not with him."

Kairi looked at me, then shook her head at him. "No, it's not going to work. I'm staying with Sora."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And, pray tell, what makes you think you can stop me?"

"You'll never convince me," said Kairi fiercely. "I went through that hell already. Sora's taught me that just because some vile asshole made me what I am, it doesn't mean I have to be a terror to humans!"

Sephiroth blinked. "You know, Kairi, if we're going to get along, you really shouldn't insult me like that."

Kairi frowned. "What, by saying that your plan won't work?"

"Well, that is an insult, but it's not what I was referring to. No, I was referring to your classification of me as a 'vile asshole.'"

Kairi blinked. "Wait…" A look of horror crossed her face, just as I registered what Sephiroth had meant. "No…it can't be…"

He nodded. "Yes. I was the one who made you a vampire."

Kairi stood, shocked, staring at the mysterious person from her past who was no longer mysterious. "No way…" she said.

"Indeed. It was St. Paul, Minnesota, wasn't it? 1999? You were a bit too much of an easy target, so I decided, on a whim, to transform you, instead of just killing you. I kept track of you for a while, but then had my attentions diverted elsewhere.

"And imagine my surprise when I come here, take an interest in an accused criminal, and find you taking an interest in him, as well." His face soured. "And then I find you consorting with a human, and knew I had to do something."

"Consorting?" Kairi's brows furrowed. "What do you know about us?"

The vampiraga made a face. "More than I would like to."

"You've been spying on us?"

"Yes. It was quite easy; your apartment doors aren't very thick and don't keep out sound well enough. Of course, there was the one time when I was interrupted…but that was quickly dealt with."

I frowned. "Interrupted?"

"A young man spotted me, and I didn't want anyone to know of my presence." He smiled. "So I took care of him."

_A young man…_ A thought struck me. Was this the young man that had gone missing, Will Turner? "What did he look like?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "Young, short dark hair, a small beard. What does it matter?"

I glowered at him. He was embodying the very same principles for which I had once lashed out at Kairi: not thinking about or caring about his victims. "It matters because you took away a person's life!"

"I have been doing that for years. It is nothing new to me." He turned back to Kairi. "But enough of this talk. Shall we go?"

"I'm not going with you."

"No?" He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me something. Do you honestly believe that this human truly cares for you? Do you think that he will ever see you as an equal?"

She frowned. "Of course."

"You think that he can keep up his condition of seeing past your vampirism? You think that he will never, even in the deepest recesses of his mind, think of you as a predator? Of a threat to him?" He shook his head. "He will never be able to get over that. He will never lose that perception of you." He gestured towards the silver necklace that hung around Kairi's neck. "Look at that. He makes you wear such things because, deep down, he fears you. And fear will eventually lead to hatred."

Kairi shook her head. "You're wrong."

"Don't try to contradict me, girl. I have seen human civilizations rise and fall throughout the ages, and it is always the case that what humans fear, they come to hate."

She clutched the necklace. "Sora didn't make me wear this. I do it of my own accord." It was true; after our admission of feelings, I had not asked that Kairi wear my mother's silver necklace anymore, but she did it anyway.

"Why do you do it?" He peered at her. "I think it is because you secretly know that he is afraid of you. You want to dispel his fears." He shook his head. "They will never go away. He will cling onto them until his last days. He will never truly accept you." His eyes lit up. "But I will show you the way of the true vampire. I will acknowledge and accept your vampirism. I alone can give you what you truly need."

Kairi shook her head again. "No. Sora trusts me."

"Does he, now?" Sephiroth turned to me. "Well, let us find out. Tell me, human, have you managed to entirely shake the perception of her as a dangerous killer? Is there no part of your mind that secretly fears and hates her?"

I furrowed my brows. Had _every_ part of my mind accepted and trusted Kairi? Did it even matter? "What does it matter?" I said angrily. "I, as a whole, accept her and love her. If there is a part of me that doesn't, I ignore it."

He grinned triumphantly. "But who's to say that one part of your mind won't become stronger?"

I shook my head. "You're just grasping at straws. You're trying to separate her from me."

"Of course," he said. "I am trying to prove that your relationship is detrimental for her."

"Well, you're not."

"Aren't I?" He turned to Kairi. "So, what think you now? You know some part of him doesn't trust you. Will you come with me?"

Kairi looked troubled, but shook her head. "No. I won't."

He stooped, picked up Roxas, then straightened back up. "I think you will."

I aimed my gun at his head. "Put him down."

He ignored me. "One last chance, Kairi," he said. "Come with me." He hefted Roxas's limp form. "We can enjoy a meal together."

That was the last straw. I pulled the trigger, shooting a bullet directly into the vampiraga's forehead.

He didn't even flinch. He just turned towards me, slowly. "Is that all?"

I fired two more shots, but neither had any more effect than the first. "You're lucky these aren't silver," I said, cursing myself for not having any beforehand.

"No, _you're_ lucky they're not silver," he said. "If they were silver, I'd be angry. And if I was angry, it would mean that you would survive for much a shorter period of time."

I stood facing him, breathing heavily. Was there nothing I could do to save Roxas? Maybe, if I stalled for time a little longer, Cloud would arrive, and be able to help…

"Wait."

I turned to Kairi, who had spoken. "I'll make a deal with you," she said, facing Sephiroth.

He raised an eyebrow. "A deal?"

She nodded. "If you leave him behind," she indicated Roxas, "and leave him alone," she pointed at me, "then I'll come with you."

I stared at her. "What?"

Sephiroth snorted. "Why should I do that? I can take you with me whether you agree to come or not."

"But it will be much less of a hassle if I come quietly," she said. "And is he really worth that?" She indicated Roxas again. "He's just one human of many. If all you want is blood, couldn't you just pick up another one?"

I looked back and forth between the two, my brain processing the fact that Kairi had just grouped Roxas with all other humans, as food. But she was doing that just to convince Sephiroth, right?

Then I realized that, if her plan worked, she would end up going off with him. "Kairi, no," I said. "Don't give yourself up." She didn't think that I would end up distrusting her, did she?

She turned to me. I stared at her imploringly, hoping that Cloud would come soon, and prevent her from feeling like she had to make this sacrifice. Then, she heaved a sigh, and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were filled with sadness. "Just let it happen, Sora," she said. "I mean, let's be honest: where was this relationship going? It was great, sure, but impractical." She shook her head. "I need to get back to reality. And…" She trailed off, and looked away.

I stared at her, disbelieving. Did she really mean that? Had she given up on everything we had worked for? "What…you're just going to give up on us? On me? Kairi, just because you're a vampire doesn't mean we can't maintain a relationship. Even if it ends up just being friends." I gestured to Sephiroth. "If you go with him, you'll return to your state of despair, of loneliness and isolation. Kairi, you don't have to put yourself through that again."

For an instant, she did nothing, and I could only stare at her and hope that my words had gotten through. But then, she moved. Still not looking at me, she unclasped her necklace and laid it on the front desk. Then, she turned to Sephiroth. "We should go."

I felt numb. No…then this was it? But…it seemed we had only just begun our relationship…

Sephiroth smiled. "Well chosen, my dear."

Kairi nodded at Roxas. "What about him?"

He shrugged. "It makes little difference to me. If you want me to leave him…" With one hand, he lifted Roxas and tossed him, sending the blond doorman flying and crashing into a wall, where he slid to the floor.

The sound jerked me out of my reverie, and I ran over to him. "Roxas?"

A groan escaped the doorman, and I felt a small surge of relief. At least he was alive, and it sounded as though he would wake soon. But Kairi…

I turned back around…but the room was empty. They were gone.

She was gone.

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**So...thoughts? Reactions? I'll try not to keep you guys hanging for too long.**


	19. Resolution

**All right, here we go with another chapter! Sorry for the delay; I've been on vacation for the past few days and that kept me pretty well-occupied. Hope the last chapter's cliffhanger didn't make you go too crazy...**

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In reality, it was only a couple of minutes before Cloud got to my apartment building, and found me crouched in front of a stirring Roxas. But, to me, it seemed like hours.

I didn't understand. Was that really what Kairi had wanted, or had she just said that to get Sephiroth to spare us? Either way, she was gone. As Yuffie had said, the odds of finding Sephiroth weren't good. Besides, now that he had gotten Kairi, he might be done in New York, and move somewhere else. It would take ages to find him. And, by the time we did, he might have achieved his goal, and turned Kairi into a monster.

I bit my lip, holding back tears. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all. I had thought I could save her. I had thought that I could bring her out of that world of darkness for good. But now, she had dived right back in. And I might never see her again.

"Sora!" Cloud's voice broke through the mist of my despair, but only barely. I forced myself to look up at him, his face wild. "What happened? Where is he?"

"Gone," I managed to croak.

He frowned. "Gone? Wh…what happened?" He knelt down and examined Roxas. "He's still alive," he said. "And he doesn't look like he's sustained any major injuries."

I nodded. "I know."

"Then what are you so upset about?"

I was supposed to tell him? He, the vampire hunter, was supposed to understand the pain I felt after losing an important vampire in my life? He would only scorn me, and antagonize her. I felt my fists clench at the mere thought of it.

Cloud changed the subject. "Sora, where did he go?" I shrugged. "Sora, you're not being helpful!"

I glared at him. He didn't understand…

Or did he? Hadn't he told me that Sephiroth had killed his girlfriend? Surely, that was similar to the pain I now felt.

"Sora!"

I looked up eagerly to see the familiar, friendly face of Goofy. He was standing at the door, panting, like he had just ran all the way here (which I suspected was the case). "You're okay!"

I shook my head. I was not okay.

Goofy frowned in concern. "Is something wrong?"

"He seems upset," said Cloud, "but I haven't been able to figure out—"

"Sora!"

Donald joined the group, entering the apartment after bolting out of a taxi. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Something's happened to him," said Goofy. "He looks really upset."

Donald looked down at Roxas. "Is Roxas okay?"

I nodded, and Cloud added, "He'll be fine. He'll probably wake up in a few minutes."

Donald frowned at me. "Then what's the problem?"

The lump in my throat was growing bigger, and I couldn't speak. Wordlessly, I stood up, and motioned for Donald and Goofy to follow me. I then pointed to Cloud and then to Roxas.

Cloud frowned. "What's he trying to say?"

"I think he wants us to come with him," said Goofy, "while you stay and watch over Roxas."

I nodded.

"Why?" asked Cloud. "What's he got to say to you that I can't hear?"

"There could be any number of things," said Donald. "We've known him for a lot longer than you have. Just stay here and keep watch."

Cloud scowled at him, but didn't argue.

I led the other two back to my room, taking the elevator, silent all the while. When we arrived, I opened the door, then walked to the couch in a trancelike state.

Goofy spoke. "Sora, what's the matter?" He looked around. "Where's Kairi?"

I sank onto the couch, then looked up. "He took her."

And with that, my self-control dissolved. Tears flowed down my face, and I began to sob. A second later, I felt someone take a seat on my left, and put his arm around me.

"He took her?" said Donald, sounding confused. His voice was coming from in front of me, so I deduced it was Goofy sitting next to me. "Why? What…"

"Hold on, Donald," said Goofy. "Give him some time."

Donald stopped talking, then moved to the couch himself and tried to comfort me, putting a hand on my shoulder. We sat there for a while, silent except for the sounds of my sobs.

Finally, I managed to recover enough to speak. "Thanks, guys."

"We're always here for you, Sora," said Goofy.

"Yeah," said Donald. "It's like the three musketeers said: all for one, and one for all."

I smiled. "Yeah, that's us."

Goofy stood up. "Do you need a drink?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great."

He got me some water, and I drank it, feeling my throat clear up. "So, what exactly happened?" said Donald lightly.

I took a breath and told them. How, after getting back, Yuffie had called me and told me where Sephiroth was. How I had run down to find the vampiraga in the lobby, who then explained to me how he had orchestrated a plan to "redeem" Kairi. How she had come down soon after and how he had attempted to convince her to go with him. How we both had resisted him…and how, finally, she had agreed.

After I finished, my friends were silent for a moment. Then, Goofy said, "Well, we've gotta find her!"

Donald blinked, but then his expression became determined, and he nodded. "Yeah! Kairi's our friend! If she thinks Sephiroth is right, then we'll just show her he's wrong!"

"Right," said Goofy.

I looked from one to the other. "You're not worried that she gave up on me?"

"I don't think she did," said Goofy. "I think she was just trying to get Sephiroth to leave you and Roxas alone."

Donald agreed. "Yeah, I'll be that was it. Besides, even if a part of her has given up, we'll show her that she can still be a vampire and have human friends." He grinned at me. "We're not gonna give up on her just yet, Sora."

I sat for a moment, processing these words. They made sense…maybe I had just allowed my fears to get away from me. "You're right, guys," I said, nodding. "And even if Kairi has given up on me, I'm not giving up on her."

"That's the spirit!" said Goofy. "Now, let's go get Cloud's help. We'll need him if we want to find Sephiroth."

I nodded. "Though he might not take too kindly to the idea of me having a vampire girlfriend."

"Who cares what he thinks?" said Donald. "If he objects to it, we'll stand up for you."

I smiled broadly. "Thanks a lot, Donald, Goofy."

* * *

Full of a new determination, the three of us went back downstairs. "You're back," said Cloud when we reentered the lobby. "Took you long enough."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Donald beat me to it. "Hey, lay off," he said. "Sora's just gone through a really rough experience. He doesn't need your criticism."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "I'm trying to be practical here." He gestured to the couch where Roxas had been. "The doorman woke up several minutes ago and fled in a panic, saying something about red eyes. I wanted to go after him, but had to wait for you. Besides, there were a few other hypnotized people to deal with." He gestured to another couch, where two women and a man were propped into a sitting position. "I'm still waiting for them to wake up."

"Good, then you'll have time to hear what happened," I said.

"Yes, that's why I'm still here," he said. "I've been hunting this vampire for over seven years, and I've come as close as I've come to confronting him in the past five. So, what did he do, and why did he leave?"

I faced him. "He took my girlfriend."

Cloud blinked. "You have a girlfriend?" I nodded. "That's odd. Tifa and Yuffie didn't see anything that suggested you had a girlfriend when they looked you up."

"They wouldn't have. She's hardly left my apartment."

The look of confusion on his face was quickly replaced with one of suspicion. "Why do I get the feeling there's something you're leaving out?"

I paused. _Here it comes…_ "She's a vampire."

He froze. "You cannot be serious."

I met his gaze. "I am dead serious. I am in love with a vampire."

He was still for another moment. Then, he punched me in the face, sending me staggering backwards. "What the hell have you been playing at?" he yelled, as Donald and Goofy caught and steadied me. "You've been consorting with the enemy from Day One! How do I know I can trust you?"

Back on my feet, I glared at him. "I have been consorting with no enemy," I said firmly. "Kairi is not my enemy."

"Your vampire girlfriend?"

"The same."

"How can you stand here and claim that a vampire is not your enemy?"

"Because I'm not one of those people who make harsh judgments based on physical characteristics. I'm not one of those people who see someone and hate them because of who they are. I'm not one of those people, who cause more problems than they solve with their closed-mindedness and their refusal to see the truth!"

He stepped in for another punch, looking livid. But, before he could, Donald quickly stepped in front of me, and hit Cloud in the stomach. Surprised and winded, he stumbled back, as Donald and Goofy stood in front of me. "If you want to hurt Sora, you're going to have to go through us!" said Donald.

Goofy nodded. "Sora's our friend. We've stuck by him throughout this entire deal, and now is no different!"

Cloud looked from one to the other, his expression a mixture of astonishment and anger. "So, you've been in on this, too," he said. "I should have known better. You three are useless to me." He turned to leave.

I stepped forward and grabbed him by the arm. "Hold on."

"Don't touch me!" he yelled, jerking his arm away.

I grabbed it again. "I'll do whatever I want. I need to get Kairi back, and I need your help for that."

"And what makes you think I'll give it?"

"Because, working together, we'll have a better chance of finding him than not."

He glowered at me, and opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped. "What?" he said.

I blinked. "I didn't say—"

"Not you! I'm talking to Tifa."

I fell silent, and watched as Cloud conversed with his associate through his earpiece, though I was unable to hear her. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "I thought you were with me on this!" He paused and listened. "Then why…"

Whatever Tifa said next made him blink and change his expression. "What…?" He listened, his expression growing less angry and more surprised-contemplative. "She…no, I…what does it matter? She's dead!" He paused. "It's not…" After that, he didn't speak for almost a minute, and he looked more and more pensive. Finally, he said, "Give me a minute."

He walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'll be back," was his only reply.

* * *

It wasn't for a while, though; the three hypnotized people on the couch had all woken up and (after deciding that they had all, coincidentally, fallen asleep at the same time) left before he returned. "I've given it a lot of thought," he said. "And I've decided to help you."

I felt relieved; much as we had clashed over ideologies, Cloud knew his stuff, and would be exceptionally helpful in locating Sephiroth. "Good," I said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," he said. "I've made it my duty to take down Sephiroth, and I intend to carry it out. That your girlfriend was captured by him…well, we'll do what we can about that."

I nodded. "We will."

I filled him in on my conversation with Sephiroth. Cloud was unpleasantly surprised at how much the vampiraga knew about him. "He's been listening in on our conversations?" he said.

I nodded. "He's been keeping track of me ever since the Xemnas affair." I had related the story of how that had gone down.

Cloud's face darkened. "Then we have to assume that he knows everything we've said." He looked around. "In fact, I'd rather not be discussing this out in the open."

"Then let's go to my apartment," I suggested.

He agreed. We headed for the elevator, but as we did, we passed the front desk, and I glanced over, something having caught my eye. It was my mother's silver necklace, which Kairi had taken off before leaving with Sephiroth. I went over and picked it up. _I will find you, Kairi,_ I silently vowed.

We went up and into my apartment, going into my bedroom and talking in low voices for extra security. "However," said Cloud once we had arrived, "even if he does know everything we've said, we might still be able to beat him."

"Why's that?" asked Goofy.

"I've fought Sephiroth once, seven years ago," said Cloud. "Back when he…wreaked havoc on my family and friends." He blinked, pushing the memory aside. "And, as I recall, one of his greatest weaknesses was his arrogance. He is overconfident, and doesn't consider any normal human a true threat." He looked at us. "We may be able to exploit that. If we attack him with enough preparations, we may be able to take him by surprise."

"What kind of preparations?" asked Goofy.

"Well, for starters, silver, and lots of it," said Cloud. "If we want to kill a perfect vampire, we're going to need silver. And fire." He thought. "There's no foolproof plan for killing a perfect vampire. But there are ways to increase the likelihood of doing so." He stood up. "I will gather the necessary materials. Let us meet tomorrow, here, at…" He checked his watch. "Nine o'clock. We need time to prepare, but we need sleep, as well."

"What about finding Sephiroth?" I asked.

"Tifa and Yuffie are already on that," he responded. "They've doubled their efforts, and they're trying some new things, too. With luck, we'll find him within a day or two."

I nodded. "Then let's hope luck is on our side."

"Yes, let's," he agreed. "Because if it isn't…we won't have a chance."

* * *

As you might imagine, I had a very hard time getting to sleep that night. When I did, though, I was confronted once again by my old nightmare. Again, I was in the dungeon, facing Kairi, who turned and lowered her hood. "I never asked for this," she said, as she had done previously.

This time, a response came.

"But it has been given to you."

I turned around. There, as before, was the huge shadow with two gleaming red eyes. But, as I watched, it morphed itself into the form of Sephiroth. "And I am here to show you how to claim it." He reached out his hand.

Then, I felt the fear. But this time, I could identify it. Before, it had always been a fear of something unknown, something mysterious, but I could point to its source as easily as I could point to Kairi.

I was afraid of losing her.

I was terrified that Sephiroth would succeed, and turn her back into a malevolent killer. I was scared that all our work would have been for nothing. And I was horrified at the thought of never seeing her again.

That was the fear that had paralyzed me. It wasn't fear for myself, which explained why it was so different and so powerful, compared to the other times I had been afraid. It was fear for the one I loved.

But I would not let her down. I would do everything I could to protect her.

Still dreaming, I clenched my fists. "Get away from her!" I yelled, and lunged at Sephiroth.

* * *

I woke up, heart pounding, processing my dream. So, this is what it had led up to. Had this been the case all along? Or had it just evolved with my actual experiences?

It didn't matter. What mattered was that it was right. Losing Kairi was the thing that scared me the most, and I would do anything to prevent it.

I glanced at my clock, which read 2:45. Breathing slowly, I tried to relax myself; I needed more sleep, and staying up would only hurt my cause. _But I will be coming for you, Sephiroth,_ I thought. _Wherever you are. Wherever you've taken Kairi. I will find you, and I will save her from _you. I allowed myself a smile of grim determination. _I am the Darkness Hunter. And I am hunting you._

* * *

Luckily, I did manage to fall back asleep, and, when I woke at a quarter to nine, I felt ready. Ready to hunt.

I quickly showered and dressed, and was in the process of eating breakfast when I heard a knock on the door. I opened it, and Cloud came in, carrying a cello case. "A cello?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head. "A cello case." He set it down on my dining room table and opened it.

I couldn't help but stare. Inside was a huge assortment of silver weapons, from bullets to large swords. Even the hilts of the swords and knives were silver. "You've certainly got the equipment for the job," I remarked.

"Of course," he said. "Many of these are old family weapons, used to slay all sorts of vampires."

"And you've used them all?"

"Not all to kill vampires, but I am familiar with each of their uses." He took out a couple boxes of silver bullets and handed them to me. "Take those. If you want, you can take one of the knives, too."

"Thanks," I said, as I began loading the silver bullets into my gun.

"Don't thank me just yet," he said. "These are only tools. They will mean nothing if we cannot use them."

I nodded in agreement. "Have you heard anything from Tifa and Yuffie?"

He shook his head. "No, but they're focused on their work at the moment. They won't tell us unless they're sure they have something."

I frowned. "We can't get an idea of how far they are?"

"I don't want to break their concentration." He sighed. "It's not easy, but we have to be patient."

* * *

Donald and Goofy soon joined us, and were also given silver bullets to load and a silver knife. I caught Donald looking longingly at some of the swords, but Cloud, following his gaze, told him that he was best equipped to handle them, and someone who wasn't intricately familiar with them would end up doing more harm than good if they had one. Donald had been disappointed, but backed down.

We spent the rest of the morning going over the best ways to kill Sephiroth. While silver bullets would hurt him, they alone would not be enough. The best way was to stab him in the heart with one of the knives or swords, then, with him weakened, impale, and thus weaken, him further. This could open up an opportunity to burn him, and while we may not be able to burn him entirely, Cloud assured us that he could take care of the rest.

We ate a quick but substantial lunch, and then Cloud tested us on our combat skills. He was a rough teacher, constantly reminding us how strong and fast Sephiroth was, and pointing out the many instances in which we left ourselves open for a fatal strike. I forced myself to keep my patience, knowing that what he was telling us could very well save our lives.

Then, at about four in the afternoon, his phone rang. He got it out. "It's Tifa," he said. "They've either found him or he's gotten away again." He answered. "Tifa."

I held my breath, watching his conversation. "Where? … Are you sure? … Did you see the girl, too? … Could he be baiting us? … Well, we'll show him that he's wrong. … I'm not; I'm ready to take him down." He glanced at us. "They will have to do. … Tifa, if we don't move now, we could miss him again. … If we wait, he only takes more lives and gets more dangerous. Besides, what about Kairi?"

I raised my eyebrows. Was he showing concern for Kairi? How had he managed to change his views so much?

"When is he there, usually? … Then as soon as possible. … We can deal with that."

He turned his gaze to me again. After a moment of silence, he said, "I think he'll be fine. Look, Tifa, we have to get moving. … Right. Of course. I've been training to do this for years. I'm as ready as I'm going to be. … Thank you."

He hung up. "They've found him."

I had guessed as much, but had still found myself waiting with baited breath to hear what had happened. "Where?"

"Long Island." He checked his phone. "They've sent me directions."

"Where on Long Island?"

"An old house at the top of a hill. That's all I can tell you." After another moment of tapping and looking at his phone, he nodded. "Found it. It's about a one-hour drive from here."

"Then let's go," I said.

"One moment."

I frowned at him. "Aren't you as eager to take him down as I am?"

"More so. But we have to make sure that we are entirely prepared."

And so, I was forced to wait as he checked over our collection of supplies: weapons for weakening him, and flammable liquids, matches and lighters to burn him. Once he was satisfied, he nodded, and bade each of us take something, while he grabbed the case full of weapons. "This is it," he said as we prepared to leave. "I hope you all know what you're getting into."

"You betcha," said Goofy, nodding solemnly.

"Right," I said. "We've faced danger before, and while it may not be like this, we're ready." I nodded at Cloud. "And we have your expertise, too."

"Don't rely on me too much," he said. "I am only one man. Together, we are four, and stand a much better chance of killing him. You all need to do all that you can if we want to have any chance of success."

"We gotcha," said Donald, looking nervous but resolute.

Cloud's mouth set into a grim line. "Then let's go."

He turned towards the door, and had started out when I thought of something. "Cloud," I said, a little hesitantly.

"What?"

I paused. "What was it that Tifa said last night that made you change your mind?"

His face darkened, and for a moment, I was afraid I had just made him mad. Then, his expression eased up. "She asked me what Aerith would have thought." With that, he turned back to the door and walked out. "Now, come on. We need to get a move on."

I nodded, and, one hand in my pocket, grasped the silver necklace. It was time. The hunt was on.

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**So...big confrontation next chapter. We're almost done.**


	20. A Perfect Vampire

**Well, I've been a little busy these past few days. The good news, though, is that I've finished writing rough drafts of my final two chapters. It's this chapter, then two more, and we're done. (Or are we...?)**

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A little over an hour later, we stood silently looking at the house that Tifa and Yuffie had found. "Well, that's certainly an appropriate place for a vampire," said Goofy.

It was, indeed. As Cloud had said, it was an old house placed on top of a hill, with no other houses in the immediate area. It was fairly large, and looked as though it had been quite a place in its time. And, as if to add to the atmosphere, storm clouds were gathering in the distance.

I drew my gun. "So, we're just gonna go in there?" We had gone over our plans on the ride over (being careful not to let our driver hear).

Cloud nodded. "With his senses, we won't be able to catch him by surprise with our presences. The best we can hope for is that he won't be expecting us to be so well-prepared and put up such a fight."

Donald shuddered. "And you're sure he won't hypnotize us?"

"No," said Cloud. "But my hope is that he won't think he'll have to. Of course, that's why I have these." He held up a pair of silver nails. "First chance I get, these go into his eyes."

Cloud certainly presented a striking figure. After we had gotten out of the cab (a bit of a distance away from our target), he had equipped himself with four of his swords, two at his sides, and two tucked into sheaths behind his back. Strapped to his ankles, hidden by his pant legs, were two silver knives. Several pairs of silver nails were attached to a strap across his chest, along with a silver dagger.

The rest of us had a less impressive setup. All three of us had loaded our guns with silver bullets, and we each carried a silver knife, sheathed at our sides. Goofy, given his aversion to violence, had been assigned the carrying of the flammable liquids: two cans of gasoline that we had picked up earlier that day.

"Well," I said, making sure my gun was ready to fire, "are we waiting for anything?"

Cloud shook his head. "No. Let's go."

And he strode off, us following. My heartbeat seemed to speed up with every step we took. What had Sephiroth managed to do to Kairi in a day? Had he subjected her to some sort of rigorous, painful procedure intended on destroying her humanity? How successful had he been?

We ascended the hill and reached the door of the house. Behind me, I could hear Goofy gulp and Donald's teeth chattering. "Calm down, guys," I said. "We can't let our fear show. We can't let it take us over."

"Excuse me for being afraid of a violent death," said Donald.

I turned to face him. "You think we aren't all? You know how it goes, Donald. Of course we're scared. We're always scared. But what we have to do is face our fear, and overcome it."

"It's not as easy when you're going up against a perfect vampire," he said.

I nodded solemnly. "I know. But we have to try."

He took a deep breath, and nodded.

* * *

The door was unlocked, so we were able to get in without trouble. The inside of the house was even more foreboding than the outside. Of course, there were no lights on, so the dim evening light was all we had to see by. I heard thunder rumbling, but there were no flashes of lightning bright enough to give us more visibility.

We had entered in what appeared to be an entrance hall, with a large staircase in front of us leading up to the second floor. A chandelier, adorned with cobwebs, hung from the ceiling, and a fine layer of dust had settled over every surface. "That Sephiroth guy sure knows how to pick his houses," said Goofy in an undertone.

Cloud stepped forward. "Sephiroth! We know you're here. Come out and let's end this!"

I added my voice. "Kairi! We're here! I'm not giving up on you!"

Donald winced nervously. "Not going for subtlety, are you?"

"There's no point," I said. "He's right; Sephiroth probably knows we're here already."

We waited, alert for any sign of movement. "You sure he's here?" Goofy asked.

"I can feel him," Cloud responded.

I could too; my instincts were letting me know that there was a dark presence here. And Sephiroth fit the bill exactly.

Suddenly, the door behind us slammed shut. I whirled around, as did the others. "Above us!" yelled Cloud. Instinctively, I rolled to the side, in case Sephiroth launched an attack from above. Getting quickly to my feet, I looked around to see a large, dark figure alight on the floor in front of us. In an instant, I recognized the black cloak and silver hair.

The figure straightened, and slowly turned around, gazing at us with his cruel red eyes.

"_Estuans interius ira vehementi, estuans…"_

I frowned. "What's that?"

"Oh, sorry." Donald took out his phone. "New ringtone." He turned it off.

The ringtone had provided a brief distraction, but with it gone, everyone's focus returned to the matter at hand. "Sephiroth!" said Cloud, drawing his swords.

Sephiroth fixed his gaze upon him. "I understand you've been looking for me."

"Yeah," said Cloud. "Once I get rid of you, the dark shadow that you've cast on this world will be gone."

The vampiraga let out a cold laugh. "Really? You think it will be that simple?"

"You don't know what I can do," said Cloud. "I've improved since we last met."

"Perhaps." He smiled. "But this time, you don't have your friend to bail you out."

Cloud's eyes widened in fury. "Shut up!" He ran at Sephiroth, prepared to strike, but the vampiraga dodged the assault as if it were nothing.

"Cloud! What are you doing?" I asked. He had made the first move, and thus given Sephiroth the opportunity to counter it.

Sephiroth turned his gaze to me, as more thunder sounded. "I'm surprised you're not doing the same," he said. "Aren't you worried about your little friend?"

I pointed my gun at him. "What have you done with her?"

He smiled broadly. "She is proving to be a much better student than I thought."

I felt the color drain from my face. "You liar!" I fired, aiming for his head—this time, with silver bullets, they would be more than just a nuisance.

But he was too fast. Moving almost too fast to see, he ran at me and struck, hitting me in both the wrist and ankles. I lost my grip on my gun and fell. "Sora!" said Donald, and fired his own gun. Moving just as quickly as before, Sephiroth turned to him and swept him aside, sending him flying. "Ah!" he yelled as he hit the floor, gun flying from his grip.

The vampiraga turned back to me. "Don't believe me? Why don't I show you?"

I tried to get to my feet, but couldn't support myself; it felt like my ankles were broken, or at least fractured. "Yeah, show me," I said. "Then I can prove you wrong."

He looked at me like I was something unpleasant he had scraped off his shoe. "So, you persist in your idealism? Fine. I will crush it here and now!"

But at that moment, Cloud, who had been quietly creeping up on him, attacked, thrusting his sword forward to pierce his heart. Sephiroth, however, was not fooled. Dodging nimbly to one side, he watched as Cloud stabbed thin air, then picked him up and hurled him across the room. He landed hard on the staircase, and a groan of pain escaped him. "Cloud!" I yelled.

But then Sephiroth raised his voice, making it reverberate throughout the entire building. "Kairi, we have guests. Come and join my welcoming party, if you would."

From further within the house, a light _pitter-patter_ of feet could be heard. I held my breath. Sephiroth was lying. He had to be…

Seconds later, a figure emerged from one of the doors next to the staircase, as another, louder roar of thunder sounded out. It was her. But she looked different. Her expression was harder than I knew it, and conveyed a sense of…almost tragedy. "Sora," she said when she saw me. Her voice was flat, but there was something else in it; it sounded like she was trying to conceal her surprise.

"Kairi!"

She looked away. "You shouldn't have come."

I shook my head. "No, Kairi. I should have. Nothing's going to keep me from you. I have seen the light in you, and I refuse to let it go!"

Her face took on a slightly more pained look. "You can't do anything."

"That's where you're wrong." I reached into my pocket and took out the silver necklace. "Remember this?"

She didn't say anything, so I went on. "The necklace that you used to wear all the time. The one I gave you when I first took you to my apartment."

"Precisely," said Sephiroth. "The necklace you gave her to stop her from hurting you. Because you didn't trust her." He smiled. "That necklace represents everything that holds you back, Kairi, particularly Sora's fear. You did well in leaving it."

"That's not true!" I said. "Kairi, this necklace is more than just that. It represents a bond of love."

She flinched at the word "love." "My father made this specially for my mother," I went on, "because he loved her. And at first, yes, I did give it to you to limit your powers. But I also gave it to you because I knew it wouldn't hurt you. And I came to regard it in a different light." I looked directly at her. "My father saw it worn on the woman that he loved the most in the entire world. I…I was hoping that I could do the same."

There was no mistaking the look of shock that crossed her face. "Sora…" she said, barely audibly.

"And I still hold that hope, Kairi."

She turned to me, finally meeting my eyes. In hers, I saw barely concealed tears. "But…"

"But you are wrong." Sephiroth stepped between us. "Your stubbornness knows no bounds. You will not accept the simple truth."

I glared at him. "What can I say? I've always been a bit of a stubborn guy."

His face darkened. "We'll see how you act when I'm through with you." He started towards me.

"Get back!" said Goofy, and fired his gun. Caught by surprise, Sephiroth barely managed to dodge the bullet, and turned his attention immediately to Goofy. He rushed over to him and struck him in the stomach, sending him to his knees, gasping for air.

"Goofy!" I yelled.

Cloud, shaking himself out of his daze, ran up to Sephiroth, swords in hand, but, for the third time, was thrown aside, hurled at Kairi's feet. "Now, Kairi," said Sephiroth. "Take him down. He is a man who hates you and your kind. You know it! How does he deserve to live?"

Kairi looked between Sephiroth and Cloud, indecision on her face. Before she could make a move, Cloud shot up, grabbing the silver dagger from the strap around his chest. I caught my breath. He was going to attack her…

But he didn't. Knocking her to the floor, he drove the dagger into her dress, pinning her to the floor. Immediately afterwards, he took out one of his silver knives and hurled it at Sephiroth. But the vampiraga's reflexes were too quick. The knife passed harmlessly by him. Turning around, he seized one of the wooden beams holding up the second floor and pulled, tearing it away. As I marveled at the sheer strength of the perfect vampire, he hurled it at Cloud.

Cloud moved a split second too late. The beam clipped him in the hip, and, with a grunt, he stumbled and fell, clutching the spot where he had been struck.

More thunder rang out, and flashes of lightning became visible. The storm outside must have been fierce. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to worry about that.

Another _bang_ sounded out, and Sephiroth barely dodged another bullet. He whirled around to see Donald firing repeatedly at him. Moving at barely visible speed, he ran in, but Donald threw himself to the side, still firing.

This seemed to catch the vampiraga by surprise. Upon finding that his target was not where he expected, he turned, and in that instant, forgot to dodge the bullets. Two hit him directly in the chest, and he let out a loud snarl of pain. "That's it, Donald!" I yelled encouragingly.

Smiling confidently, Donald pulled the trigger again, aiming at the now-weakened Sephiroth. It emitted a _click_ that I knew all too well, and a sense of dread filled me. My friend had been a little too trigger-happy. He was out of ammunition.

Donald realized this almost as soon as I did. His eyes fell to his gun, then back up to Sephiroth, who was glaring at him. "Uh…" He dropped his gun and made a cross with his index fingers. "Get back?"

The vampiraga scowled. Quick as a flash, his hand shot out and grabbed Donald's makeshift cross. He squeezed briefly, and I heard a crack as Donald's expression turned to one of pain. "You don't have much blood, little man," he said in a dark, threatening tone. "But you're a nuisance. And seeing as how I have you here, and your friends are incapacitated, you will be first."

Mustering my strength, I crawled over to where my gun was lying, a few feet away. Picking it up, I turned back to Sephiroth, who had Donald by the throat. My fingers curled around the trigger, and I fired.

It caught him by surprise; the bullets hit him in his back, and he flinched. Dropping Donald, he turned to face me, fury etched in his face. "They're silver this time," I said.

"And that will cost you," he responded. In a second, he closed the distance between us, grabbed my gun, and crushed it with his bare hands. "Imagine this as your bones," he said. "Then you know what's about to happen to you." He grabbed my arm—my left arm, the one that bore the scar from Kairi's attack. "But you won't die yet. I have plans for you…" He looked down at the scar. "Let's just say there will be more where that came from."

He rose his foot and brought it down, hard, on my shin. I let out a yell as I felt the bone snap. "You will lie here, powerless," he said, "as I kill your friends one by one. Then, you will be my prisoner. And you will be the final instrument in helping her turn to the darkness."

I spat in his face. "Never."

He smiled cruelly. "You have no choice. I am a hundred times more powerful than you. Than any of you. You came in here, foolishly thinking you could stand a chance against me. Even your so-called hunter was easy to defeat."

"The hunter's right in front of you," I said, and whipped out my knife. I thrust it at him, aiming directly for his heart. But he was not as surprised as I had thought, and knocked it out of my hand, sending it skidding across the floor. "Your attempts are pathetic," he said. "Now, prepare to feel a world of pain!"

He raised his hand dramatically, a gleefully murderous look on his face. But then came something that none of us were expecting.

"Get away from him!"

A loud rip sounded through the air. Sephiroth turned to see Kairi, dress torn, rise from the floor and grasp the silver knife that Sephiroth had knocked away. I stared at her. The handle of the knife was silver, too; it deterred vampires from using them. But here Kairi was, holding something made of pure silver, glaring at Sephiroth. It would have to be causing her enormous pain, and yet she refused to let it show.

"What are you…" began Sephiroth.

She ran at him, knife out. She was slightly faster than the rest of us, so I hoped she might have more of a chance. But he dropped me and shot out an arm to her, gripping her by the throat. "You would turn on your own kind, even after all I have shown you?" he demanded. "You would even use that which is the bane of our kind?"

Kairi struggled, but could do nothing against the hold of a perfect vampire. "Our kind…doesn't matter," she managed to say. "Sora…is more…of a friend…to me…than you…could ever be!"

The vampiraga stared at her. "So be it," he said. "I made my attempt, but you are beyond redemption. You are not worthy to be one of us." He peered at her. "I still sense my blood within you. Now, I will take it back!"

I blinked. "What?" I looked at Cloud, who was struggling to get up. "What's he talking about?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

But Sephiroth was doing something. I could see Kairi convulsing slightly, as he seemed to be focusing on her. "What are you doing to her?" I yelled.

"I am reclaiming my gift," he said. "She has proven that she is not deserving of it."

"But what…"

He ignored me, and continued to focus on Kairi, whose body continued to shudder. He was doing something to her, but what?

She had the same question. "What the hell…are you…doing to me?"

"My blood," he said. "If you had stayed with me, you could have learned this power. I can control my blood."

"C-control it?"

"Yes. I can separate it from yours. And once I remove it…" He let his threat hang.

My mind was racing. If Sephiroth removed his blood from Kairi's body, would that remove her vampirism? Could she…could she become human again? On the other hand, how much of his blood was contained in her? If it was too much, she wouldn't be able to survive losing it.

But there was nothing I could do, except watch. My gun was crumpled uselessly on the floor, my knife was still in Kairi's hand, and my broken leg made sure I wasn't going anywhere.

My friends were similarly incapacitated. Donald was lying on the floor, nursing his broken fingers and bruised throat. Goofy was still curled up, recovering from the punch that Sephiroth had dealt him. Cloud, though the most able-bodied of all of us, was still unable to stand, and could only glare at Sephiroth.

Unwilling to just stand by, I crawled over to my gun and picked it up, hoping I could still get some use out of it. As soon as I saw it, though, I knew it was a lost cause. The metal was far too bent for the gun to function at all, and to bend it back would take strength that I did not have. At this point, the only thing I could do was throw it at Sephiroth, but that would be like tapping him with a toothpick; he'd barely even feel it.

Then, a look of cruel satisfaction spread over his face. "It is done," he said. Then, without warning, he brought his face down to Kairi's neck and bit down.

It was one of the worst moments of my life. Kairi's mouth hung open as her face contorted in pain. The sound of Sephiroth draining her blood reverberated through the room. And I could only lie on the floor, completely powerless to help the woman I loved. It was hell.

My hand closed around my gun. No. No, I would not just sit here and watch. I would fight until my body was bruised and broken beyond repair. And then, I would still keep fighting. "Get away from her!" I bellowed, and hurled my gun with all the strength I could muster.

It struck him in the back of the head, and his face pulled away from Kairi's neck and turned to me. "The weak struggles of a loser," he said contemptuously. "No matter, though. I have taken all of my blood back." He turned towards the now-limp figure in his grip. "She is no longer one of us." He drew her closer, and looked into her face. "And now, options. Should I kill you straight-out, or let the shock and loss of blood do the work for me? Either way, you're dea—"

He broke off, a look of shock and pain crossing his face. He tried to speak, but only gasps came out. Dropping Kairi, he stumbled backwards, and, with another flash of lightning, I saw what had caused this change. Protruding from his left breast, buried to the hilt, was my silver knife.

I stared at Kairi, lying still on the floor. She had done it.

Fury all over his face, the vampiraga tried to grab the knife and pull it out, but the silver hilt made him recoil whenever he touched it. "Cloud!" I yelled; it was now or never.

He nodded. "Right!" Mustering his strength, he got to his feet and ran at Sephiroth, drawing the silver nails as he did. Sephiroth raised his head to face him, but his wound had severely dulled his reflexes, and he was unable to act before Cloud plunged the nails into his eyes.

He let out a scream, one so loud and unholy I thought I would go crazy just listening to it. But Cloud seemed unaffected. Drawing the two swords at his side, he thrust them into his enemy's body: one in his right breast, one in his abdomen. Then, continuing with his fluid movements, he drew the two swords from his back and stabbed Sephiroth with them, as well, placing one in each of his legs. The screams got louder, but Cloud kept going. Dodging the frantically moving figure of the vampiraga, he ran over to Goofy and grabbed the two cans of gasoline that lay by his side. Then, he ran back to Sephiroth, uncapped the cans, and threw their contents all over him.

Now thoroughly doused in gasoline and blood, Sephiroth seemed to lose all of the cool cruelty he had possessed beforehand, and could only rage blindly and furiously, lashing out at anything in the vicinity. I watched him anxiously; he was strong enough that a single blow could kill any one of us, and while he was not within striking distance of me, Donald, or Goofy, his speed would allow him to become so in less than a second.

But Cloud was on it, and he knew what he was doing. Taking one of the knives strapped to his ankles, he doused it in the remainder of the gasoline. Still moving quickly, he whipped out a matchbox, said something in an undertone that I didn't catch, lit a match, and set the knife's blade on fire.

Meanwhile, Sephiroth was getting weaker. His initial berserker mood seemed to have subsided, and his struggles and strikes were becoming weaker and less frequent. Cloud surveyed him, looking for an opening, then ran in and struck, driving the flaming blade into his body. In seconds, the vampiraga's entire body was in flames. His screams were renewed, but he could do little aside from convulse in agony. For a moment, I felt sorry for him; burning to death had to be one of the most painful ways to die. Then, I remembered what he had done, and my pity vanished.

Soon, Sephiroth's screams had died down, and a charred, burning body lay where he once had been.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then, I said, "Is it over?"

Cloud exhaled and sank to his knees. "Yes. He's not completely dead just yet, but he's too weak to stop us from killing him for good." He looked back at us. "Is everyone okay?"

Goofy nodded, breathing almost entirely normally. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah," said Donald, a little hoarsely.

A single, ragged breath caught my attention, and I whirled around. "Kairi!"

She was twitching feebly on the ground, eyes barely open. Gathering my remaining strength, I crawled over to her and took her in my arms. "Kairi!"

She looked at me weakly. "Sora…" Her eyes, now an ocean blue, stared at me, but were beginning to dim. She managed a smile. "You…were…right…"

Then, she let out one last, shuddering breath, and her body went limp.

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**...thoughts? Reactions?**


	21. Aftermath

**Couldn't leave you guys hanging for too long. Here's Chapter 21!**

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I don't know how long I stayed there. I had lost all track of time. I had lost all track of everything. Inside I felt hollow, and the outside world was just a buzz.

Kairi was gone. Permanently this time. She was dead.

Eventually, I became aware of a hand shaking my shoulder. "Sora, we have to go," said Goofy, his voice making its way through the fog in my mind. "That storm that we saw is getting nearer, and it's looking to be a fierce lightning storm."

I shook my head. "Can't leave."

"Sora, this house is a dangerous place to be during a lightning storm," came Cloud's voice. "It's high up and made of dry wood. It could easily be struck, and go up in flames. And you three all need to get treated for your wounds. The longer you do nothing, the worse they become." When I made no response, he added, "Come on, Sora! You can't just sit there!"

I glared up at him. "What did you do when Aerith died?"

He frowned at me and didn't respond.

Goofy spoke again. "Sora, we'll come back for her. I promise."

I spoke. "If we leave, we're taking her with us."

"Of course."

"Hold on."

I glanced up at Cloud, who had spoken those last two words. "What?"

He glanced at Sephiroth. "I need to stay here and make sure that he's properly taken care of."

"And?"

"Leave Kairi here."

I shook my head. "No."

"You're too weak to carry her out."

"Not happening."

He stamped his foot. "God damn it, Sora, listen to reason! You're going to need Donald and Goofy's help to get out, and they'll barely be able to support you, with wounds of their own!"

"I'm not leaving her."

"You have to."

"I won't."

We glared at each other for a moment. Then, his expression eased. "I'll take care of her."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I will ensure that she gets back to you. I will take care of her body, and bring it back when I am done."

I stared at him, unable to decide whether or not to trust him. "How do I know you will?"

"I give you my word that I will." A flash of pain was briefly visible in his eyes. "I know what it is like to lose someone like her. I will see to it that her body will go to you, and you can do with it as you please."

Thunder rumbled, and a flash of lightning was visible through the windows. The storm was close.

"Sora…" said Goofy. "It'll be okay. Cloud will bring her back."

I looked back down at Kairi, her peaceful expression sending another dagger through my heart. Cloud was right; I couldn't carry her, not in my current state. "Fine," I said in a soft voice. "But _make sure_—"

"I will," said Cloud. "Now, get moving."

Slowly, Donald and Goofy helped me to my feet, and we made our way out of the house. Nobody said a word.

* * *

We stayed in silence for the trip to the hospital, too, aside from conversing briefly with our cab driver (though Donald did the talking there). When we got to the hospital (Twilight Hospital; the same one Hayner had been in), Donald and Goofy quickly came up with a story to explain our injuries, and we were all admitted. I didn't pay attention to what it was. I barely even noticed as they strapped me to a table, took several x-rays, and confined me to a hospital bed. All I could think about was Kairi. She had saved me. She had saved all of us. But she had paid the ultimate price.

I felt numb. Then, a nurse injected me with something, and I lost consciousness.

* * *

I woke up the next morning, and the events of the previous day came rushing back to me. For the first time since leaving the house, I cried.

I cried for a while, but managed to pull myself together by the time the doctor came in. He was tall and thin, with long blond hair. "Sora Parker," he said in his calm voice. "How are you feeling?"

I sat back on my pillow and closed my eyes. I wasn't in the mood to talk. After a few moments, I heard the door open and close. Opening my eyes again, I could see that the doctor had left.

A few minutes passed, and then the door opened again. "Sora?" said a voice, hesitantly. I raised my head slightly and saw Goofy peeking into my room. "Can we come in?"

I thought for a moment, then nodded. The doctor hadn't known what had happened to me, but they did. They were my best friends, and probably worried about me. I could stand their presence.

He came in, followed closely by Donald. "Hey, Sora," said the latter, lightly.

I nodded feebly in return. "You guys all right?"

Donald nodded. "Yeah. Broken fingers, but they'll heal." He held up his hands, showing the braces that had been put on his fingers to help them recover.

I looked at Goofy. "You?"

"Some internal bruises, but nothing else."

"Good."

He hesitated. "How are you holding up?"

I looked at him. "Not well."

"No. I'm so sorry, Sora."

Donald nodded. "Me, too. But she died helping us, right? And she died human, so…uh, that's what she wanted to be, right?"

Yes. She had wanted to be human. But she had barely gotten to enjoy the experience before…

I teared up again. "Oh, sorry, sorry," said Donald.

I shook my head. "S'okay."

He moved forward and put my hand in his. "Sora…well, this is tough. But you'll be able to get through it. And we'll be right here beside you!"

Goofy nodded, and took my other hand. "Don't forget, all for one and one for all."

I took a breath, and nodded. They were right. This would be a very hard time for me, but, eventually, I could pull through. And I had good friends like them to help me every step of the way.

* * *

Of course, that didn't stop the pain entirely. I broke down crying a couple more times in the next day, including one instance where Donald asked if I wanted him to bring me a book, and I realized that Kairi and I had never finished the Harry Potter series; she would never know what happens at the end.

Speaking of pain, I was to be in the hospital for a few more days. My shin was broken, and both my ankles were fractured, so I needed some time for them to heal. Meanwhile, Donald and Goofy took over the investigative business, tackling the large pile of cases we had put on hold in order to deal with Sephiroth. I don't think I had ever admired the pair of them more than I did then; they pushed themselves to solve all sorts of cases, and when they weren't working on them, they were visiting me and seeing to my needs. Both of them, even the more self-centered Donald, forced their needs to the side and directed their focus towards helping others. And I found myself appreciating what outstanding partners I had.

But they weren't the only visitors I had. Three days after I had been admitted, my doctor (whose name, as I had found out, was Even Isaacson) came into my room and told me I had a visitor. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Someone from the police department," said the doctor. "He says he knows you. Name's Lea Fiers."

_Lea._ I immediately felt a stab of guilt that I hadn't contacted him beforehand. "Okay, I'll see him."

Even retreated, and, a few seconds later, in walked Lea. "Sora!" he said. "What the hell happened?"

"I took a nasty fall on the rocks by the Sound," I said, having heard the fabricated story from Donald and Goofy.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry. I…I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

He frowned. "What are you referring to?"

I hesitated. Lea was one of my best friends. Should I continue to keep him in the dark like this? But ignorance, in this case, could mean security… "It's complicated," I said.

His frown deepened. "Not gonna tell me?"

His tone sounded accusatory, as if he were mad at me for something else. "Is something the matter?" I asked.

"You mean aside from one of my best friends being hospitalized and not telling me? Actually, there is." He glanced back at the door to make sure it was closed, then turned back to me and pulled up a chair next to my bed. "You remember the Xemnas case, right?" he asked, sitting down.

"Of course."

"And how I was to investigate his murder?"

"Yeah…" My heartbeat increased. Had he found anything?

"And how we thought we wouldn't get anywhere with it?"

"Yeah."

He fixed me with an odd look. "Well, guess what? We did."

I blinked. "You…you did?"

He nodded. "Yup. Just yesterday, a guy named Marluxia Defleur came to me with a video he had taken. He lives in one of the apartments that overlooks the alley where Xemnas's body was found. And he just so happened to have his camera with him the night that Xemnas disappeared." He pulled out a laptop. "He had a very interesting video. Want to see it?"

My throat was stuck. No way our luck could have been this bad…

"Here it is," said Lea, after a moment on his computer. "Take a look."

He turned the computer around as a video began playing. The sound was poor, and only picked up the noise of the traffic, and voices whose words were unidentifiable, but the picture was visible. I watched as Kairi led Xemnas into the alley, spoke to him, and handed him the knife. I saw as Xemnas stabbed himself, and how Kairi began to drink his blood. Then, I saw her turn around, as Donald, Goofy and I entered the picture. I yelled at Kairi until I saw Xemnas, and then the four of us conversed. After that, Goofy and I dumped Xemnas's body in the dumpster, and we all left the alley.

"So," said Lea, after the video had ended, "I'm no expert on identification, but I know you three well enough. And I couldn't help but notice that the woman with you, the one who made Xemnas kill himself—however that worked out—matches the description of the woman who got away from you after almost killing that college student." He fixed me with one of his rare hard, serious looks. "So, tell me. What the hell happened?"

I stared at him for a moment. Then, I let out a sigh of defeat. "Okay, Lea," I said. "I…I haven't been entirely honest with you."

"Yeah, I've noticed."

"No, I mean…about me. There are some things about me, about what I do, that I haven't told you." He had caught me, and I could see no other way out.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What do you mean?"

So, I told him, finding a sort of release in doing so; there was something comforting in telling a big secret to a good friend. (Provided that he was still my good friend.) I told him everything—how I had come to start pursuing supernatural creatures, how I had encountered dozens—both in New York and elsewhere, how I had found and recruited Donald and Goofy, and how we often got cases from Riku, who knew what we did. As I did, his expression changed from angry and accusing to confused to concerned and curious, as if he wasn't sure if I was crazy or not. But, surprisingly, he let me continue, and didn't interrupt me with questions of any sort.

So I went on to more current events. First, I told him how Clayton had been a wendigo, which surprised him. "Didn't know even I was dealing with them," he muttered.

"A lot of people do, actually, without knowing it," I said.

He nodded. "Uh-huh."

I then went into the whole Kairi story, telling him everything about what had happened, from Pence hiring me to finding her and getting hypnotized, to busting her operation and setting her on the run, and to her attack in the alley. He made a perplexed face when I told him how I ended up sparing her, but seemed to accept my explanation of feeling that killing her wasn't right.

Then, I went into the drama at my apartment. How I had restrained her, and she had done her best to aggravate me. How tensions had risen until we reached a breaking point, and how I had taken Goofy's advice and tried to mend our relationship. Then, how it had succeeded, and how we had grown closer, and eventually become friends. This was where I explained what had happened to Xemnas—how Kairi had gone after him with me in mind, how I had snapped at her, and how it drove us apart. Then…how we discovered our feelings for each other. How we had started a romantic relationship, and how happy it had made me. (I had a hard time keeping myself together at that point.)

Then, I told him about Cloud and Sephiroth, how the former had gotten us involved in a hunt for the latter, but how Sephiroth had been keeping track of us since the Xemnas incident. I told him how Sephiroth had tricked me into meeting him, and bringing Kairi along. How she had agreed to go along with him if he left me and Roxas alone. How Donald, Goofy and I had vowed to go after her, and convinced Cloud to help. And, finally, our showdown at the old house on the hill…and what had happened there.

I fell silent, and looked at Lea, who was staring at me, his expression hard to read. "That's the truth, Lea, I swear it is," I said.

He nodded slowly. "Uh-huh…" he said, in a tone that suggested he didn't fully believe me.

"And I'm sorry for tricking you about Xemnas, but I didn't want to get Kairi in trouble, or involved with a lot of questions. Am I supposed to tell everyone that vampires exist? And…I'm sorry I kept all this from you. You are my friend, but I thought that knowing about this might put you at risk somehow, and the less you knew about it, the better."

His gaze was still fixed on me. Then, slowly, he stood up. "I'll be back," he said. "Just, uh, give me a bit of time to process this."

I frowned. "Are you going to do anything?"

"After you tell me all that? I don't think I'll be able to." He paused. "But I'm not going to the police with this video, if that's what you're wondering."

"What are you going to do with it?"

He paused again. "Well…I'll get back to you on that one."

And he left.

* * *

The next day, Donald and Goofy stopped by for another visit, and I asked them how the cases were going. "Well," said Donald, "there are a lot." He drew himself up. "But we're getting through them."

I looked from one to the other. "And you guys are okay? You're getting enough sleep and everything?"

Donald raised an eyebrow. "What are you, Sora, our mother? Besides, I've already got Daisy fretting over me."

"Daisy?" I had forgotten about Donald's girlfriend. "How is she holding up?"

Donald shrugged. "She's fine. Aside from all the worrying about me she's done." He grinned lightly.

"What about you, Sora?" asked Goofy.

I sighed. "Well, my leg's coming along…"

Goofy frowned. "Is something bothering you?"

"Is it Lea?" asked Donald.

I blinked. "How did you know?"

"He visited us yesterday," answered Donald. "Told us all about the conversation you guys had."

I grimaced in a sort of apologetic way. "Yeah. Sorry for spilling the beans, but—"

Donald cut me off. "No need to apologize."

Goofy nodded. "Yeah. The more friends we can have for this cause, the better. Besides, it does sound as though you didn't have much choice."

I grinned. "Thanks. So, what else did he say?"

"Well, he asked us about the whole situation," said Donald. "I think he was trying to confirm that you weren't crazy."

I nodded. "Can't blame him."

"Well, we showed him all sorts of evidence. I think it ended up convincing him, but he looked a little dazed. He thanked us and left. We haven't heard from him since."

I glanced at the door, a little apprehensive that he would burst in, flanked by Isa and Leon, to arrest us for the Xemnas murder. "He told you about the video, too?"

Anxiety crossed Donald's face, and Goofy nodded. "Yeah. Talk about bad luck, though."

"No kidding," I agreed.

Donald shifted. "How did that happen…?"

"Well," I said, "with any luck, he'll…"

I trailed off. _Would_ Lea really ignore the evidence? He was a staunch police officer, after all. And all of the information that I had held from him might count against us.

Donald and Goofy, seemingly thinking the same thing, took on expressions of apprehension akin to mine. "Should we call him?" asked Donald.

I frowned. "I'm not sure. He did seem like I needed time to think…"

"I did, indeed."

All three of us turned in surprise, as Lea walked through the door. "Regular party, here," he said, glancing around.

"Lea!" I said. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Well…" He had on an odd expression. "I came to conclude things."

I straightened up. "And?"

He paced the room. "Well, I'm still a little miffed that you didn't tell me about all this—though I suppose I can see why you would have wanted to conceal it. But now…" He turned to me, and a grin spread across his face. "Dude, this is pretty awesome." He pounded his chest. "You ever need help with this sort of thing, you can count me in."

I blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd be able to get into some exciting situations as a cop, but this is a whole new level."

"But it's dangerous. Even more so than what you normally do."

"Sora, please," he said. "I've been dealing with danger my entire life. And if you guys can survive it, I'm sure I'll be able to, too."

Donald raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lea chuckled. "Nothing." He walked up to me. "But, hey, we're still friends. And friends help each other out." He held out a hand. "Whaddaya say?"

I stared at him for a moment. Then, I broke into a smile, and grasped his hand. "Sounds great. I'll be glad to have your help, Lea."

He returned the smile. "Whenever you need it."

A moment passed, then Donald cleared his throat. "So, uh, what about that video of Xemnas?"

He released my hand. "Well, it's the damndest thing," he said. "Defleur gave me the original copy of the video so I could examine it, and I had a copy on my computer. But someone—I don't know who, or how—managed to delete both videos." He shrugged. "Must have been someone who didn't want Xemnas's killer to be brought to justice."

I blinked. "You have no idea who it is?"

"How could I?" said Lea. "Could have been anyone."

He winked, and I realized what he was getting at. A huge wave of relief swept through me. "Thank you, Lea."

Lea frowned, keeping up his act. "Thank me for what? I just told you that Xemnas's killer, whoever it was, probably won't be found. I didn't recognize anyone on the video, and I don't think Defleur did, either." He let out a theatrical sigh. "Well, there are some things even the police can't do."

I nodded, forcing back a grin. "Right."

He checked his watch. "Well, I need to get back to work." He nodded at us, a smile on his face. "See you all around!"

* * *

More time passed. Eventually, my leg had mended enough so that I could leave the hospital, though I would have to walk on crutches for a while. I liked to think that my heart was on the mend, too, but whenever I thought of Kairi, the wound was reopened, and I had to work to hold back tears. "Where's Cloud?" I asked Donald and Goofy, as the three of us sat in our office (I had gotten back to work, though the other two insisted I take it easy, and only do a minimal amount). "Has he contacted either of you yet?"

Donald frowned and shook his head. "No. Haven't heard a thing."

My brow furrowed. "Shouldn't he have results by now?" I began to get anxious. Had anything happened to Cloud? Where was Kairi? What if…what if Cloud had failed to get rid of Sephiroth once and for all, and he was still out there? My fists clenched. Sephiroth had murdered Kairi. He could not be allowed to get away.

"Don't worry, guys," said Goofy. "Cloud knows what he's doing. I'm sure he's fine."

"But it's been over a week," I said. "How long does it take for him to do whatever he needed to do?"

Goofy shrugged. "What _did_ he need to do? He never told us, exactly. Maybe it's something that takes a long time."

"But…" _He promised he'd bring Kairi back._ When was Cloud planning on fulfilling that promise?

* * *

That day, as I went home from work (Donald and Goofy had gotten me a taxi, so I wouldn't have to walk back), I thought of a way to contact Cloud. Yuffie had called my phone to warn me about Sephiroth one time. Wouldn't her phone number be recorded in my phone, then? All I would have to do was check my recent calls, and I could get her number. Then, I could call her, and find out how Cloud was doing. Surely she knew what was going on with him…

But I would not have to.

After taking the elevator to my floor, I got out, limping towards my room, around the corner. But then, I heard voices. "He's taking a while," said one voice.

I froze. I recognized that voice…but that was impossible…

"He might have worked late," said another voice. "Besides, he is injured. He might be taking it slowly."

The first voice sighed. "I hope he gets back soon…"

No…no way…this was impossible…but who else could those be?

Putting all my effort into limping as fast as I could, I rounded the corner. Two people stood by my door, and, upon hearing me, turned to face me.

I stared in shock. One of those people was Cloud. The other was Kairi.

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**Yeah, I could have given this story a tragic ending, but...nah.**

**What do you all think? Please let me know!**


	22. A Bright Future

**The final chapter.  
**

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For a second, nobody moved or spoke. Then, Kairi broke the silence. "Sora," she said.

I continued to stare. I couldn't help it—I had seen her die. I had held her dead body. How could she be standing here?

She took a step forward. "Sora, it's me." She reached out a hand, still moving forward. "It really is."

Her hand touched my face, and I felt myself start to come out of my daze. "K-Kairi…" I reached up with one of my hands and took hers. Was it her? Could I dare to hope that, somehow, by some miracle, she was alive and standing here in front of me?

"Sora!" She let out a sob and threw herself into me, almost making me lose my balance. "Oh…sorry!"

I straightened myself. "I-I'm fine." I looked at her. She looked just as I remembered her, except for the lack of her vampire characteristics. Her skin, while still light, was no longer noticeably pale. Her teeth were no sharper than mine. And her eyes, instead of red and foreboding, were the same color of blue that I had seen right before her death. (Or, at least, what I had thought was her death.) She was the most beautiful being I had ever laid eyes on.

I felt my knees get weak. It was her. It had to be. "Kairi!" I said, and wrapped my arms around her, tears flowing from my eyes. She did the same (including the tears). We stood there, together, and I felt as though I never wanted to let her go.

That is, until Cloud cleared his throat, and I remembered he was there. I didn't want to separate from Kairi, but I needed to know what had happened. Gently easing myself out of our embrace, I looked at him. "How did you do this?"

"Galvanism."

I raised an eyebrow. "Gal what?"

"Stimulation through electricity. I used the lightning storm to revive her."

I blinked. "You what?"

"It's a long story." He gestured towards my door. "Do you mind if we discuss it inside?"

I didn't mind. After unlocking the door, we went inside. I had to let go of Kairi to use my crutches, but she kept a hand on my arm, and it comforted me. Upon sinking onto the couch, however, my hands were freed to hold her as she curled up next to me.

Cloud sat down on one of the chairs. "So, you want to hear how this all came about?" I nodded. "Well, I first got the idea before you guys left, which was one of the reasons I wanted you to leave her behind."

I frowned. "Why didn't you tell me what you were trying to do?"

"I didn't want to give you false hope," said Cloud. "I knew that my plan did not have a high chance of success, and I didn't want to give you a hope that would be snatched away, and leave you more desolate than before."

I blinked. "That was thoughtful of you."

"I'm not entirely heartless, Sora," he said, with a hint of a wry grin. "Besides, I knew where you were coming from." He looked at Kairi, then back at me. "So, after cutting up Sephiroth's body to further reduce his power, I took Kairi to the top of the house, and managed to use one of my swords as a lightning rod. The storm was close enough for me to attract bolts of lightning, and after a couple struck, her heart started back up again."

I gaped. "I didn't know that was possible."

"Sure. You ever hear of a defibrillator? Or the story of Frankenstein? It's fictional, but it has some basis in fact. Electricity can, to some degree, be used to restart the human heart."

"Wait a minute," I said. "If you were able to revive Kairi so easily, why did it take you so long to get her here?"

He held up two fingers. "Two reasons. One, I had to deal with Sephiroth's remains. If I left them as they were, he would revive himself—it would take time, but, as you may know, vampiragas are exceptionally hard to kill, and if they're not killed, they can regenerate and heal their wounds. I needed to burn his bones, and the only place I knew of where that was possible was a furnace back at my house."

"Where do you live?"

"Around Boston."

I frowned. "That's not too far away. Did it really take you all this time?"

He shook his head. "No, only a couple of days." He smiled triumphantly. "But I did it. Sephiroth is gone for good."

A sense of victory filled me, too. We had done it. We had really taken down a perfect vampire. But… "Then why did it take you so long to return?"

"That's the second reason." He looked at Kairi. "The lightning restarted her heart, but she was still comatose. I had to take her with me, and wait for her to wake up. She did only a few days ago, and it took her until today to recover enough to be healthy to travel." A shadow of a grin crossed his face. "And of course, when she did, we had to come here right away."

He had done all of this for us? I let that thought sink in. Then, I said, "Cloud, you have done so much. You are really an amazing person. I had pegged you wrong, and I apologize for that."

He shook his head. "You don't need to apologize. I did the same with you. I thought you were weak, because you didn't want to kill. But I've come to realize that it's your compassion that makes you that way, not weakness." He smiled at me, and I took note; that might have been the first time I had ever seen him really smile. "This was a good experience for me, Sora, and not just because I ended up finally taking down Sephiroth. I learned some things, and I have you to thank." He turned to Kairi. "You as well. You were the first vampire I've seen that actively helped humans. You've made me reevaluate some of my opinions. Not to mention that it was all thanks to you that we were able to defeat Sephiroth at all."

She smiled. "I'm glad I could be of so much help."

"You have." He looked at us. "Well, I think it's time for me to head off."

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"Well, just because Sephiroth is dead doesn't mean this world is safe from all threats. I figure I can just keep doing what I'm good at."

"Do you want to help us out? We can always use another investigative partner."

He looked for a moment like he was considering it, but then said, "I think I'll pass." He rose. "I've got my own things to do. But…" He looked around. "You have a pen and paper?"

I nodded and pointed. "Should be some in the corner."

He walked over, picked up a scrap of paper and a pen, wrote something down, and walked back. "Here," he said, holding out the paper. "If you need my help, you can reach me at that number."

I took the paper. "Thank you. I'll keep you in mind."

"Well then…" He held out his hand. I tried to rise, but he said, "Don't. You can rest."

I grinned and took his hand. "I'll see you around."

He gave me a half-smile. "Yes, I think you will."

"And thank you again for all that you've done."

"I just do what I can."

He held out his hand to Kairi, too, but she enveloped him in a hug instead. He seemed surprised, and unused to it. "Thank you," she said, in a slightly teary voice.

His expression became satisfied, and he half-returned her hug. Then, with a final smile at the pair of us, he left.

* * *

After spending some quality time with Kairi, I called Donald and Goofy and told them what had happened. Both wanted to come over upon hearing the news, which I agreed to. Then, after a moment's thought, I called Lea, too, and told him what had happened, as well. "Wait," he said after I was done. "So, your vampire girlfriend, who you thought was dead, was brought back to life by that vampire hunter using lightning. And…why is she no longer a vampire, again?"

"Sephiroth removed her vampire blood," I said. "Somehow, he was able to control his own blood within her body, and he brought it all into one place and sucked it out."

"And that was what killed her, right?"

"Yeah. Shock and blood loss took their toll."

"Okay…I think I get it. No, wait, I don't." He sighed. "Man, this is complicated."

"Do you want to come over and meet her?"

"Meet her?" I could imagine him scratching his head, like he often did when he was unsure of something. "Well…are you guys up to anything?"

"No. Actually, Donald and Goofy are coming over, too."

"Oh, all right. Uh, okay, then, I'll come over."

I smiled. "Great. See you in a bit!"

"Uh, yeah. Bye."

I hung up and turned to Kairi. "Well, I think he's still a little uncertain, but he'll be here."

She nodded. "I picked up that much."

I found myself staring at her for the umpteenth time that day. "What are you staring at?" she asked.

"I just…can't believe you're really here."

She smiled at me. "Well, you'd better believe it. And get used to it, because I don't plan on going anywhere."

* * *

Goofy was first to arrive, being the closest. After he enthusiastically greeted me and Kairi, I began to tell him what had happened, but was interrupted by Donald's arrival. Not wanting to start my story again when Lea arrived, I asked the pair of them to wait for him to come. Goofy, accommodating as always, didn't mind. Donald grumbled, but eventually agreed. So, for about five more minutes, we sat in an awkward silence, occasionally broken by Goofy's attempts at making conversation. But they didn't really go anywhere.

Finally, though, Lea arrived. "Hey, Sora," he said, hugging me, and greeted Donald and Goofy similarly. Then, he turned to Kairi. "And you must be Kairi."

She nodded and got up. "And you're Lea."

"That's my name." He smiled as he shook her hand. "Well, I'm certainly eager to hear all about you. You're the first vampire—or, I guess, ex-vampire—that I've ever met."

Kairi nodded. "Sora told me he just told you about his line of work a couple days ago."

"Yeah. Had no idea, and I've even helped him out on some of his cases. Who'd have thought Sora would be so good at keeping a secret?"

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. "Well, do you wanna hear what happened?"

Of course, they all did. So Kairi and I related the story, from me leaving her with Cloud to Cloud's revival of her to our reunion (though we did keep out a few of the more intimate details).

When we had finished, Lea scratched his head. "Sounds almost too good to be true," he commented.

I smiled. "Well, sometimes the truth can be miraculous."

"Yeah." He looked at Kairi. "So, what's your story? How'd you even become a vampire in the first place? Sora mentioned that it was that Sephiroth that did it, but I don't know anything else."

So Kairi told her what had happened to her, describing her past life in Minnesota; how Sephiroth had found her one night and transformed her; how she had, at first, attempted to live her life as a vampire peacefully, but how she had been driven to violence. I couldn't help but admire the way she admitted that last part; she didn't lump all of the blame on others, and actually made it sound like it was largely her fault. Lea's eyes darkened at this, but gradually softened. "Well…" he said after she was done, "that's one hell of a story." He paused. "Can't say I approve of the killing, though…"

Kairi shook her head. "No. It was a terrible thing that I did. I doubt I'll ever be able to forgive myself." She took a deep breath. "And…and if you feel that…that you need to…to take me in…I'll understand."

I blinked. It hadn't occurred to me that Lea would want to arrest Kairi. Surely he'd realize this situation was different? Couldn't he believe in her remorse?

"Huh," he said, as if he hadn't expected Kairi to say that, either. "Well, in a normal situation, I probably would." He paused, and my heart raced. "But…this is no normal situation." He shook his head. "I'm probably…actually, I'm _definitely_ breaking all sorts of rules, but, hey, I'm a generous guy. You can stay where you are."

"Are you sure?" asked Kairi.

"Yep. Sure, you did some bad things…" He looked closely at her. "…but I get the sense that that wasn't really _you_ who did them. Besides…" He nodded at me. "I'd hate to break poor Sora's heart by taking you away."

She looked relieved. "Thank you, Lea."

He grinned. "Yeah, I don't always play by everyone else's rules. That is, when I can get away with it."

Kairi laughed, and the rest of us found ourselves joining in.

* * *

The rest of the night passed very favorably. With Lea's jokes, Goofy's antics, and Donald being…well, Donald, everyone had a good, fun, relaxing time. However, there was something that weighed on my mind a bit, which I had thought of soon after Kairi had told Lea about her home in Minnesota. What was she planning to do, now that she was human again? Would she want to go back home? I mean, if she did, I would support her decision…it was just that we wouldn't see each other as much.

And, it might have been my imagination, but something seemed to be bugging her, as well. Several times during the night I saw her glance at me, a concerned expression on her face. I thought about asking her about it, but figured it was better to wait until after everyone had left.

They ended up staying for a while, and we found ourselves eating dinner. This was the first time that I had eaten with Kairi, and everyone surreptitiously turned their attention to her as she ate. Her response was favorable; she said that she had forgotten how good human food tasted.

The three stayed for a couple hours after dinner, but eventually, Lea took the initiative to leave, saying that he should get a bit of work done, but that it was great to see me and meet Kairi. Donald and Goofy left soon afterwards, citing the time and the need to work the next day. Finally, it was just me and her.

I turned to her, sitting next to me on the couch (I had barely gotten up the whole evening, on account of my leg). "So," I said, "that was fun."

She nodded. "Yeah." She sounded bright, but there was something in her tone that suggested that she was worried about something.

I frowned. "Is something the matter?"

She blinked. "What makes you ask?"

"You seem a little worried about something."

"Well…it's just…" She sighed. "When I told Lea about all the people I killed, I was worried that it would bring back unpleasant memories and feelings for you. If…if you're no longer comfortable with…with us, then…"

I blinked. "_That's_ what this is about?"

She nodded.

For a moment, I said nothing. Then, I leaned forward and kissed her. "Kairi," I said, after ending it, "it didn't bother me before, and it doesn't bother me now." I smiled. "Besides, as someone very important once said to me, you may have done something bad, but the fact that you realize that it was bad speaks volumes. You have emotions, which everyone does, but you also have a conscience, which not everyone does." I reached up to touch her face. "You're a kind and caring person. That is how I view you. And that is how I will always view you."

She smiled, and I could see tears forming in her eyes. "Sora, did I ever mention that I love you?"

"A few times."

"Well, let me say it again." She drew closer, right up next to me. "I love you, Sora. I love you so much."

"And I love you, Kairi," I said. "More than anything in the world."

* * *

That night, we slept together. And this time, I don't just mean in the literal sense.

* * *

The next day, I slept in a bit, and, when I woke up, found a message on my answering machine from Goofy, saying that if I wanted to take the day off, he and Donald could handle the work for that day. After calling him and taking him up on his offer, I returned to Kairi, who had also woken. As I looked down at her, I felt a sense of euphoria come over me. Kairi was here, safe. We had found a solution to her problems. We could be a normal couple—or at least, relatively normal.

I got back into bed. I wasn't quite ready to leave just yet.

* * *

That day was a lazy one, which I enjoyed—to an extent. I did have a broken leg, after all. Fortunately, Kairi was always on hand and willing to help me out with whatever I needed. Besides, just being with her was enough to make me forget my pain and just feel great. Though the question of what Kairi wanted to do now—stay with me or return to Minnesota—did occupy a presence in my mind. So, after we had read a couple more chapters of Harry Potter (old habits die hard, and besides, we enjoyed it), I posed the question. "So…do you have any idea what you want to do now?"

She frowned. "Hm. I hadn't given it a whole lot of thought. I mean, I'm not sure how I would get a job." Her frown deepened. "It's going to be difficult to reintegrate myself into the world. I mean, how do I explain an absence of almost thirteen years?"

"We'll find something," I said. "But…"

I trailed off. "But what?" Kairi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just…"

She grinned. "You remind me of me, last night. Come on, Sora. If I can tell you my worries, you can tell me yours."

"Well, I don't want to say it's a worry…"

"Tell me, Sora."

"Okay." I took a breath. "Do you want to stay in New York, or head back to Minnesota?"

She raised her eyebrows slightly. "I hadn't even thought of that," she admitted. "I mean, my life in Minnesota is pretty much over. My parents are dead, and my friends have thought I was dead for over twelve years. They…they've probably moved on."

"But you could see them again," I said.

"That's true."

We sat in silence for another few moments. "You don't have to answer now," I said. "You can think about it for a while."

She nodded. "Okay."

* * *

A while later, I gave Donald a call to see how he and Goofy were holding up. "Fine," said Donald. "Nothing we can't handle. How are you?"

I grinned broadly. "Excellent."

He chuckled. "I bet I can guess the reason." He changed the subject. "Hey, Goofy and I were wondering what happened to Roxas."

_Roxas._ I had completely forgotten about him, what with Kairi being taken by Sephiroth and then dying. "I don't know. Was he not there when you left last night?"

"No, and it got us wondering."

I thought. "Cloud did say that he ran off." I frowned. "Some friends we are. We haven't even checked on him."

"We've been busy," said Donald. "We haven't really had time. Besides, how would we check on him? We only ever see him at the door. We don't know where he lives or anything."

I frowned. "That's true…" I thought. "I wonder what the people at the front desk have to say."

"You wanna ask them?"

"Yeah, I'll do that." Something else occurred to me. "Oh, and as long as we're on the subject of things we've forgotten, we need to tell Lea about Will Turner."

"Who?"

"The guy who went missing in my apartment."

"What about him?"

Oh. I don't think I had mentioned that detail. "Sephiroth killed him."

"What? How do you know?"

"He told me, in the lobby. Said that…" I thought back to our conversation. "He said that he was listening in on me and Kairi and was interrupted by someone who matched Will's description."

There was a pause on the other line. "That's terrible."

"Yeah. But Lea should know."

"What's he gonna tell the police?"

"Hm. I dunno. But we can discuss that later."

"I guess." Donald sighed. "Poor guy."

"I know. But at least Sephiroth is done hurting people."

"Yeah," he said, with a note of satisfaction in his voice. "Well, we'd better get on that."

"Right. And I'll ask the front desk about Roxas."

"Sounds good. Take it easy, and see you later."

"All right. Bye."

I hung up. "What about Roxas?" asked Kairi, who had been listening to what I was saying.

"He's disappeared," I said.

Kairi frowned. "That's not good. What happened to him after…you know…I left with Sephiroth?"

I nearly winced at the memory. "He ran off while Cloud was watching him." Suddenly, a horrible thought struck me. "Uh, could Sephiroth have done something to him?"

"I doubt it," said Kairi. "Sephiroth was with me for most of the time in between our meeting in the lobby and your guys' attack."

"Then let's find him." I reached for my crutches. "Can you help me down to the lobby?"

* * *

Several minutes later, I had managed to talk with Roxas's boss—or ex-boss, as I soon found out. According to her, Roxas had come to his shift on the night of the eleventh—the night after Sephiroth had come to the apartment building, and the night that we had attacked him. He had seemed nervous, and after only a few minutes of standing at his position, he had broken down, barely got out that he couldn't work there any more, and ran away. His boss had tried contacting him to find out more, but all that he would say was that he couldn't return for unspecified personal reasons. She had had no choice but to let him go. I asked for his number, but, given that I wasn't a close friend or relative, she did not give it to me, citing employee confidentiality. I recognized her perspective, but was still annoyed.

Well, I wasn't finished. I promised myself that I would find Roxas and explain what happened. I would just need a way to do it right, so he wouldn't think I was crazy or anything.

After returning to my apartment, I got a call from Lea, who wanted to know the details about Will Turner. I explained to him what Sephiroth had told me, and tried to convince him that it all made sense. "Yeah, but what am I supposed to say?" said Lea. "I can't just tell Leon or Isa, 'Hey, Sora told me that a vampire killed Turner.'"

"We'll come up with something," I promised him. "I've been creating cover stories for years."

"Well, then, I'll leave things in your capable hands."

I blinked. "Hold on. This is a team effort, Lea."

"Hey, I wasn't assigned to this case."

"But you said you'd help me out with anything I needed, remember?"

He paused. "Heh. I guess you got me. All right, let's brainstorm ideas and confer tomorrow, huh?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

That night, Kairi and I ate dinner—just the two of us, for the first time. We had had breakfast and lunch earlier in the day, but this was a more formal meal, which required more preparation. For our first dinner together, I had wanted to create a romantic atmosphere, but my damn leg prevented me from doing much. So, I enlisted Kairi's help (removing the element of surprise, but, then again, it was a small apartment, and she would have been able to see what I was doing anyway), and, together, we made a simple pasta dish and set up candles. Surprisingly, the pasta was quite good, though I attributed that to Kairi's doing—I can barely cook to save my life.

After dinner, she offered to do the cleanup. I would have liked to do it myself; I felt pretty useless with my broken leg and crutches. "Something the matter?" she asked, noticing the frustrated look on my face.

I grimaced. "I feel so useless," I said. "I want to help you, to do something for you, instead of making you do everything for me."

She raised an eyebrow. "What, you think I don't like helping you out? You think I don't feel the same?"

"Uh…"

"Sora, you can't imagine what you've already done for me. You pulled me out of the darkness almost entirely by yourself." She shook her head. "I'll never be able to repay you for that."

I frowned. "Hey." I reached over and took her hand. "Do you know how happy you've made me? Do you have any idea how much I love being with you?" I smiled. "That's payment enough for anything."

She smiled warmly. "Thank you, Sora."

* * *

After Kairi finished cleaning, we read another few chapters of Harry Potter, a leisurely and fun activity. But we had to stop eventually. "It's getting good," I said as I closed the book. "Well, it was already good, but…you know what I mean."

"Mm-hm." She seemed lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

For a moment, she didn't answer me. Then, she turned to me and said, "I'm staying here."

I blinked, then realized that she was answering my question from earlier in the day. "You-you will?"

She nodded. "What is there for me back in Minnesota? Just memories, and old friends who will ask questions. They have accepted me as dead. They've gotten used to it." She smiled at me. "But here, what is there for me? Some good friends, a place to live…" She paused for a moment. "And you. Someone who I can share all my joys and troubles with. Someone who will stand by my side, whatever I end up doing. Someone who will make my life brighter than it's ever been before." She took my hand. "I love you, Sora. And I want to stay with you."

For me, there were no sweeter words in the English language—or any language, for that matter—than the ones she had just spoken. "I love you, Kairi," I said. "And I'm very happy that you chose to stay with me."

And at that moment, the future had never looked brighter.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Well, that's my first story, The Darkness Hunter. I have a sequel in mind, but I'd like some feedback: Should I do it? Is there anything that you'd like to see me do differently, or the same?**

**I also would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed. Writing stories is something that I really enjoy, and I was glad to see that there were other people who were enjoying my story, too.**

**Thank you for your support, and keep reading!**


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